Hebrew review and magazine of rabbinical literature = Gal'ed

THE HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

EDITED EV

MORRIS J. RAPHAEL.

VOL. I.

TISHRI— ADAR, 5595.
OCTOBER, 1834— MARCH, 1S35.

LONDON:
PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS,

BY SIMPKIX AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS' HALL COURT.

MDCCCXXXV.

CONTENTS. ,

MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

Treatise Brochoth, 13

Hilchoth death, by Maimonides, 28, 40, .59

Treatise Sabbath,.96

Notices to Correspondents, 47, 64, 112, 144, 160, 176, 192, 224, 239,
326, 356

•

On Hebrew Synonymes, 286, 302, 316, 371

On the Characteristic Traits in the Countenance and Bearing of Nations
arising from Moral Causes, 209, 225, 241, 257, 273, 289, 305, 321, 337
On the Study of the Hebrew Language, 271

Preface of Maimonides to the Talmudic treatise C/ieleck, 254, 283, 351, 398

•

Rabbinical Apologues, 370
Review of Hebrew Literature, 272

•

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

Treatise Brochoth, 13
The Sabbath, 65, 81, 97
Covenant of Circumcision,. 113, 161
Passover, 401, 4\4

Talmudic Aphorisms, 356, 388

Talmudic Narratives, 136, 301

The Cave of Engedi, 245

The Daily Service in the Second Temple, 314, 334

THE MISHNA.

Mesecheth Aboth : "Ethics of the Fathers," ,r177, 193, 214, 223, 252, 261,
278, 293, 308, 321, 344, 357, 373, 389, 405

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

EVE O*F HOSH HASHANA, 5595.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1834.

1 No.

1.

INTRODUCTION.

Ox the first appearance of the
Hebrew Review, it will naturally
be expected that the Editors should
give some account of the motives
that have induced them to under-
take this publication ; and of the
plan and -intention according to
which they propose to conduct it.
We, therefore, deem it our duty
to crave the attention of our readers
to a few preliminary remarks of our
own, ere we introduce to them the
great men whose works our pages
will interpret.

The Jewish nation, dispersed over
the face of the whole earth, is more
generally known, and less correctly
appreciated, than perhaps any other
nation on the globe. For in what
does the knowledge of them con-
sist ? In characterizing them as a
people exclusively devoted to the
pursuit of gain : And the prejudices
that have been raised against them,
by ignorance and fanaticism, have
prevented mankind from doing
them the justice, to ascribe this blot
on their character to -its true cause,
— the oppression and degradation,
which, during a succession of cen-
turies, it has been their lot to ex-
perience, at the hands of every peo-
ple among whom they have been
thrown. Their history proves, that
this trait was not originally in their
character ; that it has been forced
on them by circumstances ; that
they are supremely gifted with in-
tellectual powers of the first "order ;
that, even whilst groaning under
the most tyrannic oppression, they
have never been without men, pre-
eminently able to instruct and im-
prove the human mind ; that -this
people, contemned as disdaining to
exert their intellectual powers for
any object save the accumulation
of wealth, has at all -times and in
all ages evinced a profound venera-

tion for learning.and an eager thirst
for the acquirement of true know-
ledge,— that knowledge which lepds
mankind to hap'piness in this, and
prepares them for it in a future
state ; and that they possess as ex-
tensive a literature, upon thfc sub-
jects connected with that important
inquiry, as any natten that ever ex-
isted ; — a literature which we may
justly characterize, as expressing the
profoundest thoughts, the most pious
sentiments, and the best precepte
for regulating the conduct of man.
' Here the reader, unacquainted
hitherto with these writings, will
naturally put the question, " How
happens it- that these treasures have,
up to the present day, remained
buried in the bosom of the Jewish
people ? Why have they not been
promulgated among mankind ? " The
answers to these questions require,
that we should enter into some de-
tails and explanations, which we
trust will satisfy the inquirer, that
it was not from any defect in their
intrinsic worth that they have so
long remained unknown.

The chief cause, — a cause the
origin of which dates from the re-
motest antiquity, and which con-
tinued in its effects till the middle
of the last centacy, — is the extreme
jealousy with which the Jews
guarded their literature. There are
few who have read the Scriptures,
or even ajicient history, but must
have observed, that, at the time the
Jews dwelt 'in their own land,
and were in the full enjoyment of
their peculiar laws and precepts, the
grossest ignorance on true religion
prevailed among all other nations;
and that the darkness which over-
spread their minds grew thicker and
thicker. Numerous instances of
the inability of other nations to un-
derst%pd the pure doctrines of the

INTRODUCTION.

Israelites, occur in the Scriptures ;
and if we refer to profane history,
we discover that the refined Greeks,
and powerful Romans, were equally
unable to comprehend the strict mo-
notheism of the Jews, and the im-
materiality of the Deity. The laws
of the Jews, in order to be properly
understood, required instruction ;
which, however willing to afford to
the individual who came in single-
ness of heart to seek and to worship
the great God of Israel, they were
not commanded to bestow on nations
immersed in the intoxicating sensua-
lity of idolatrous observances. What,
then, remained for the Jews to do ?
Appointed by their Creator the guar-
dians of his laws, the depositories
of his will, would they have been
justified in putting into the profane
hands of scoffers the inestimable
treasures .of which they were pos-
sessed ? The result of experience
dictated the reverse : When Ptolemy
Philadelphus caused the translation
of the Pentateuch, known as that of
the Greek Septuagint, to be under-
taken, it called for this remark in
the Talmud, " It was a day as fatal
to Israel as that on which the golden
calf was made." *

If such were the motives of the
Jews in times of remote antiquity,
the reasons which in later ages com-
pelled them to continue the same
reserve, though of a different nature,
were not less forcible. Driven from
their holy city and land, their temple
destroyed, themselves scattered and
dispersed among the nations, [they
were, and in many places still are,
treated with the greatest contumely
and oppression. The superstition
of the middle ages caused the Rab-
bies to be looked upon as sorcerers,
and their writings as inspired by the
evil spirit. A Papal Bull condemned
all those who should promulgate the
learning of the Talmud. And though
the Rabbies might not entertain any
very great fear of the spiritual tor-
ments which this Bull denounced,
prudence would dictate to them not
to provoke the temporal punishment
that it enacted against them. Their
duty as instructors of their nation
did not, however, permit them to re-
* Talmud, treatise, Megilla, folio.

main silent or inactive ; and, accord-
ingly they wrote, and wrote much ;
but it was in a slanguage, which
at that time few but those of their
own nation studied, and with which,
to the present day, not many others
are conversant. It is true, that the
Reformation effected a great revolu-
tion in men's minds and opinions :
But though this event deprived Pa-
pal Bulls of their power and in-
fluence in many places, to the Jews
it brought no additional security, no
inducement to depart from the-sys-
tem of reserve they had persevered
in for ages. However manfully
Martin Luther strove to cast off his
Monkish errors and superstitions,
there was one taint of the old leaven
which remained by him, — his hatred
of the Jews. He studied and knew
Hebrew, as his -translation of the
Bible manifests : But the Rabbies
found no favour in his sight ; and
when he counsels his disciples " to
raze their synagogues and burn
their books," the Rabbies had just
cause to dread the effect of such ad-
vice, coming from the great apostle
of the Reformation.

But time, the greatest of all inno-
vators, the slow and silent, but stea-
dy and beneficial, progress of reason,
have wrought a change in men's
ideas on this subject, as on most
others. The causes that operated on
the Israelites of yore have either al-
together ceased, or have undergone
such mutations as to render an op-
posite course the duty of the Israelites
of the present day. Moses Mendels-
sohn, of Berlin, was the first Jew,
who, wishing to improve the social
condition of his people, in the latter
half of the last century, translated
parts of the sacred Scriptures, and
of the literature of the Rabbies, into
pure German ; and thus led the way
to render the treasures of Hebrew
literature more generally accessible.
In this praiseworthy effort, he was
seconded and succeeded, by Naphtaly
Hertz Wessely, Joel Biel, David
Friedlander, Itzig Eichel, and many
others in Germany. A periodical,
called the Measeph, was published in
Berlin, devoted to the promulgation
of Hebrew literature. Itwas succeeded
by another, called the Shulamith,

INTRODUCTION.

devoted to the same object : But as
both these periodicals were address-
ed to Jews only, their influence ne-
ver became sufficiently general ; and
certainly did not extend to this
country ; where, with the exception
of some translations by the late Da-
vid Levy and Tobias Goodman, and
the laudable labours of Professor
Hurwitz, no efforts worth naming
have been made by Jews to diffuse
the knowledge of the writings of
their learned and wise men.

And yet in Britain, more than in
any other land, it behoves the Israel-
ite to unfold to the world the literary
treasures of his nation ; and, in re-
turn for the instruction the Rabbles
will afford, to call upon mankind to
render them that justice to which
their merits and sentiments entitle
them. Wherever the English lan-
guage prevails, the Jew now happily
dwells, under laws which extend
their protection equally to all, with-
out distinction of creeds or persons ;
enjoys that undisturbed security
which his fathers, for centuries,
prayed for in vain ; and is allowed
that free expression of thought,
which, as oppressed exiles, they ne-
ver even dared to hope for. Grati-
tude towards the enlightened people
among whom he dwells ; the wish
to convince his fellow-citizens that
he is not unworthy of the shelter and
freedom afforded him, that the pre-
cepts he obeys are fully calculated to
enable him to return the benefits con-
ferred upon him, by rendering him
as useful and moral a member of
that community as any other system
of instruction is capable of doing;
and, above all things, the desire to
dissipate the remains of ancient pre-
judices, which some interested men
may still endeavour to keep alive ; —
these are the motives which combine
to make it the duty of Israelites,
throughout the British dominions, to
remove the veil which the prudence
of former ages spread over their lite-
rature ; but the continuing of which,
at the present day, would be an in-
justice to the spirit of the age.

This duty, then, it is our endea-
vour to perform ; and we trust that
our undertaking will have the ap-
probation of every reflecting Israel-
ite. He will perceive that we are ac-

tuated by the same spirit, and guided
by the same motives, that in former
ages, and under different circum-
stances, induced our ancestors to take
an opposite course, namely, the de-
sire to promote the welfare of the
Israelites, and to strengthen the
bonds of amity and concord between
them and their countrymen of ano-
ther creed. Having thus explained
the cause which prevented the litera-
ture of the Hebrews from being gene-
rally known, we owe it to ourselves
to declare, that we are neither inno-
vators nor reformers. We do not
presume to guide the opinions of our
readers, or to arrogate to ourselves
any right of dictation ; but, as the
humble interpreters of the great
lights of Israel, our duty is to inter-
pret truly; to give their very words
whenever the idiom of the language
permits ; and in no case to obtrude
our own opinions, under the cloak
and cover of theirs.

As Jews, we have, from our earli-
est infancy, been taught to consider
the Rabbies and their writings as en-
titled to our veneration. But, whilst
the mature judgment of riper years
has strengthened and confirmed that
sentiment, we are free to confess that
some of them have occasionally ad-
vanced that, which cannot meet with
the approbation of the present age ;
neither are they then in accordance
with the genius and spirit which
pervades the Rabbinical writings
generally, but are even in contradic-
tion to their own admirable princi-
ples, expressed on other occasions.
We are not the champions of such
inconsistencies : We do not intend
to rack our ingenuity for arguments
to soften down these asperities. On
the contrary, we think we should
abuse the confidence of our readers,
and waste their time and our own,
were we to devote any portion of our
pages to such purposes ; and we give
this timely notice of our intention,
that we may not hereafter be charged
with partiality and unfairness. We
write for Je\vs ; but not for J ews only.
We trust that Christians, likewise,
will avail themselves of our humble
assistance to become acquainted with
the Rabbies : And, whilst we pledge
ourselves, in no case to alter or
pervert the true meaning of
o 2

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

extracts as we insert, it cannot rea-
sonably be expected that we shall,
in any case, aid the unhallowed
efforts of Eisenmenger,* and his
cavilling compeers. We would much
rather be taunted with having ex-
tracted honey only, from the flowers
of Hebrew literature, than give just
cause to the reproach, that our selec-
tion was injudicious, or that we per-
mitted weeds, however harmless, to
disfigure our Anthology.

To those who read merely for
amusement, we cannot recommend
the perusal of our pages. The Rab-
bies did not write to amuse ;
throughout their numerous works,
there is not the slightest attempt on
their part to call forth a smile from
their readers ; they wrote to instruct,
and we are but their translators.

But those who purpose to draw from
its very source their information
respecting the genius and tendency
of one of the oldest (if not the very
oldest) systems of legislation now
extant ; who wish to avail themselves
of the lights which ths literature of
an ancient and unmixed people must
throw on the habits, the customs,
and the history of the age in which
the writers lived ; and they, above
all, who desire to improve by the
morality of the Rabbles, to benefit
by their wisdom, and to know, in
order to obey, their sage and pious
precepts ; — to each and all of these,
we offer our invitation, and the sin-
cere promise, that our utmost efforts
will be exerted, in order that their
expectations may not be altogether
disappointed.

I. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. I.

As frequent mention of, and reference to, this composition is made,
in almost every article we may insert ; and as, moreover, it is one of the
oldest, most venerated, and by far the most generally known works of
the Hebrews, the great precursor and fountain of all subsequent
Rabbinical lore; we think we cannot do better, than commence with a
short article, illustrative of this great work.

THE compilation of the TALMUD- learned from them. Judah the son

ranks amongst the oldest Hebrew
writings. It consists of two distinct
works : 1. The MISHNA. 2. The
GEMARA ; which together form the
TALMUD.

The MISHNA chiefly contains the
oral or traditional laws, transmitted,
according to the order itself lays
down at the commencement of the
treatise ABOTH : (" Ethics of the
Fathers :") —

" Moses received the law from
Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua,
•Joshua to the Elders, the Elders to
the Prophets, and the Prophets to the
men of the great Assembly. Simon
the just was among the last members
of the great Assembly. Antigonus
of Socho received the traditions from
Simon the just : Jose the son of
Joeser of Soroeda, and Jose the
son of Jochanan, of Jerusalem, re-
ceived from him. Jehoshua the son
Perachia, and Nithai the Arbelite,

* A German, author of a most virulent
attack on the writings of the Rablnes.

of Tabai, and Simon the son of
Schatach, succeeded them ; and were
followed by Shamaiah and Abtalion,
from whom Hilel and Schamai re-
ceived the traditions. The successor of
Hilel and Schamai was R. Jochanan
the son of Sachai, who lived at the
time of the destruction of the second
temple." He had five pupils, by
means of whom the link of tradition
was connected with the compilers of
the Mishna.

The GEMARA contains expositions
on the Mishna, and various other
subjects, which we shall hereafter
enumerate.

The compilation of the Mishna by
R. Jehuda Hanasi, the prince, also
called Rabenu hakadosh, (" our holy
Rabbi,") the contemporary and friend
of Antoninus Pius, was undertaken
in the latter half of the second cen-
tury of the Christian era. The Je-
rusalem Talmud was compiled by R.
Jochanan, about one hundred years
later ; but is not so generally in use,

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

or so extensive in its materials, as
the Babylonish Talmud compiled by
R. Ina and R. Ashi about one hun-
dred years after the former. As
this last is the one by far best known,
and in the highest estimation, it is to
it that we shall confine our remarks.

No book, perhaps, has called forth
greater diversity of opinion than the
one of which we now treat ; and the
veneration in which it is held by the
professors of one religious system
can be equalled only by the fierceness
of the assaults it has had to sustain
from those of a different system.
The world at large, which at present
is obliged to form its opinion of the
merits of this work on hearsay, or
from extracts formed either by inve-
terate assailants or zealous defenders,
will not be able to arrive at a correct
estimate until the whole work shall
be translated and illustrated ; — an
undertaking rather to be wished-for
than expected. For, strange as it
may appear, neither assailants nor
defenders have as yet entered into
the essential spirit of that immense
compilation. As Jews, our bias is
decidedly and justly in its favour;
and, as we shall have occasion fre-
quently to offer extracts from its
pages, and have been requested to
state, as early as possible, what the
Talmud is, what it actually contains,
and under what circumstances it was
compiled, we will endeavour in the
present number partially to satisfy
these inquiries.

The manner of its composition
bears the impression not only of the
remote age, but of the distant region,
in which it was compiled. Had the
arts of composition been then better
known or observed, the method of
its arrangement would probably have
been very different. In the shape it
now bears it is a congest of various
materials, which neither in their worth
nor iu their contents have any affinity.
The high reputation and authority
which to this very day it justly en-
joys and maintains among the Jews,
does not arise from any or every
individual opinion or sentiment ad-
vanced in it, or from the whole of
the materials it includes ; but solely
because in it are embodied and pre-
served the ORAL LAWS, traditions

clearly traced to the days of Moses,
and the ordinance of the Deity. In
addition to these, and the dis-
cussions connected with them, —
conducted with profound wisdom
and acute logical reasoning, — the
Gemara contains historical and bio-
graphical notices, legends, astro-
nomy according to the then prevail-
ing system, sympathetic medicine,
aphorisms, parables, apologues, ser-
mons,— not discursive as in the pre-
sent day, but condensing much
meaning in few words, — ethics, and
rules of practical wisdom. All these
materials are not disposed of or in-
troduced in any particular order,
but are to be found dispersed in each
of its thirty-six treatises as the occa-
sion may require or call for them.

That the laws and precepts known
as ORAL are of divine authority, no
Jew will gainsay ; and the scrupulous
attention with which matters are
treated which, to those of another
faith, may appear of minor import-
ance, is therefore not at at all a sub-
ject of wonder. That the maxims
and sayings of the Talmud are im-
bued with a spirit of religion and
morality of the very highest order ;
that they inculcate self-denial, re-
signation in suffering, submission to
the will of God, love and devotion
to Him as the Source of all good,
and the centering of all our hopes
and aspirations in another and a
better world ; — are truths which the
most inveterate opponent of the
Talmud will hardly dare to deny.
But while these are the main cha-
racteristics of the composition, pas-
sages are to be found which the
reader of the present age is asto-
nished to meet with, and which
appear to him any thing but worthy
of the room that has been assigned
to them in this most valuable com-
pilation. The later Rabbies — im-
pressed with the conviction that
their earlier predecessors, endued
with the highest wisdom, could
not have said any thing contrary
to its dictates — have generally as-
signed a secret or allegorical mean-
ing to these obscure or startling
passages ; and, by endeavouring to
dive into their hidden sense, have
sometimes succeeded in giving a

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

most sublime meaning to passages
apparently the most incongruous.
Respecting the propriety of some
of these expositions, and the merit
of all, we are not called upon
to pronounce an opinion : But this
we do say, that, even admitting
the failure of all later expositions,
(which we are far from doing,) and
that consequently the worth of these
comparatively few passages is as
yet undiscovered, it nevertheless re-
mains true that the general character
of the compilation cannot, and does

not, therefore, lose any particle of
its high worth or unquestionable
authority ; such passages being the
unsupported dicta of individuals,
which, in* a compilation professedly
\mdertaken for the purpose of embo-
dying every known opinion of every
Rabbi, found room amongst mate-
rials of greater value. The worst
that can be said is, that the com-
pilers may not have displayed so cor-
rect a taste in their selection, as
compilers of the present day would
not fail to do. — (To be resumed.}

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES."

FROM this book, which is justly held in high estimation, and was
written by R. Joseph Albo, of Soria, in Spain, in the fifteenth century,
we intend occasionally to g-ive extracts. The following is an introduc-
tion to his Treatise on Religion : —

mate beings form the medium be-
tween the two extremes ; a state of
society being to them neither injuri-
ous, as to beasts and birds of prey,
nor of absolute necessity, as to man.
But their instinct sometimes prompts
them to associate and collect in

DIVISION I. CHAPTER V.

ALL animate beings on earth may,
according to their instincts and man-
ner of living, be divided into three
great classes. One class cannot live
and subsist, in a social state ; as, for
instance, beasts of prey : To these,
the collecting together and associat-
ing in great numbers would be inju-
rious ; for, were a vast concourse of
them collected on one spot, hunger
and their ferocious instincts would
soon lead them to destroy each other.
A second class cannot live and sub-
sist except in a social state ; as, for
instance, man ; to whom the col-
lecting together and associating in
numbers is absolutely necessary for
his preservation. His susceptible
conformation subjects him to the in-
fluence of cold and heat, and of their
alternations ; he therefore ne^rls
raiment to protect him against their
influence. His powers of digestion
are not great ; his food must there-
fore be prepared in order to aid them.
But neither food nor raiment could
he possibly obtain in sufficient abun-
dance, except in a state of society,
where many join for reciprocal aid
and assistance : One weaves, while
another makes the needle with which
the third sews ; and it is thus in every
occupation that his wants render
necessary. The third class of ani-

numbers for their welfare ; as many
beasts and birds, which at certain
seasons congregate and flock together
for safety and protection, and after-
wards separate again. With man,
however, a slate of society, when
once formed, cannot again be dis-
pensed with ; which induced our
Rabbies to say that man, by nature,
was a social animal.

As a state of society is thus natu-
ral, and therefore absolutely neces-
sary for the preservation of man,
the maintaining of that society in
every land or clime on the globe
requires certain regulations, to deter-
mine and protect the right, and to
point out and punish the wrong ; so
as to prevent the baneful effects
which the collision of passions and
interests might produce. In these
regulations are comprised commands
which tend to promote the social
welfare, — as the prohibition of mur-
der, thefts, violence, and the like.
These regulations our Rabbies called
" the natural laws of society;" as
being absolutely and indispensably
necessary to the existence of society;

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE8.

and they are generally imparted to
mankind by a sage, a prophet, or a
hero. The uniformity and perfection
of this legal system of society (as for
instance, the Roman laws) is called
" civilization ;" which, however, can-
not be upheld unless some head be
empowered to watch over and pre-
serve its integrity, either as ruler,
judge, or king of the society. And.
as man by nature is a social animal,
and is the more happy the more per-
fect the state of society is in which
he lives, it thence results that govern-
ment is to him a natural institution,
as the power of ruler, judge, or king
is indispensable to maintain the in-
stitutions of society, and with them
the well-being and happiness of the
individuals of which it is composed.

CHAPTER VI.

IF we carefully examine the animal
conformation and the perfection of
its various members, we shall find
that the Creator exerted his bountiful
providence to furnish all his crea-
tures with every requisite for their
well-being ; not only that which is
indispensable for the preservation of
the species or the individual, but
likewise with whatever might be
conducive to their happiness, so as to
render them perfect according to
their degree in the scale of creation.
And when we find the careful dis-
pensation of this bounty towards
creatures of an inferior degree, we
may reasonably infer its exercise
likewise towards those of a superior
degree, in order that they too may
be furnished with whatever may tend
to make them perfect. Whosoever
maturely reflects on this subject will
find, that it is the divine influence
alone, by means of which whatever
relates to the perfection of man can
be effected ; and that this divine in-
fluence is far more requisite to the
•well-being of man, who is gifted
•with reason, than any thing with
which the Creator has gifted all
other animals is to theirs ; they
being restrained by instinct.

This Divine influence, although di-
rectly communicated to one man only,
will nevertheless in its operation cause
and lead to the perfection of all
mankind. For although the different
species of animals, some of which

are more perfect than others, do not
communicate their perfection to
oilier races ; (as each species forms a
whole, and has its peculiar and dis-
tinct purpose in the creation ;) never-
theless, in the human species, com-
prising as it does different degrees of
mental powers, some superior to
others, all these powers combine but
for one object, — the perfection of
the whole race, which likewise has
its peculiar and distinct purpose in
the creation. If we were to assume
that the great men of the earth, from
their superior means of acquiring
knowledge, are more perfect than
their labourers, that the sage again
is more perfect than the great, that
one or more of each class are more
perfect than his or their fellows ; yet
the perfection of any one or of all
these individuals alone would not
in itself constitute the aim or pur-
pose for which his species was
created, but would only be instru-
mental to the perfecting of the whole
species of which he or they, however
distinguished, form but a part ; as
in the body there are different mem-
bers, each required for the preserva-
tion of the whole ; — and though some
of these members are more important,
and therefore superior to others, yet
they are not so for their own sakes
only, but as forming a part of, and
essentially contributing to preserve,
the entirety and perfection of the
whole. And as in the body the
heart is the vital part of the animal,
the instrument for circulating life
throughout the frame, and particu-
larly the brain, by means of which
sensation and motion are gradually
conveyed to all the different mem-
bers ; so likewise, in the human
species, the mass receive the impulse
towards its perfection from the
principal members, not as being dis-
tinct from them, but because together
they form but one whole.

The rank of principal members of
the human species appertains to
those few selected by the Deity for
the purpose of conveying through
them, to the rest of the species, the
divine influence and the means of
acquiring perfection. And it ought
not to be less evident to us, that the
bounty of Providence, intent on em-
ploying the means most conducive to

s

M ETAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

promote the perfection of mankind,
did grant the divine influence, with-
out which there can be no perfection,
to the few as integral parts of the
whole human race ; than it is, that
the same Providence did grant to all
other animals not only what is re-
quisite for their preservation, but
likewise what is conducive to their
perfection according to their respect-
ive degrees in the scale of creation.

Directions given by the individual
thus selected by Providence to pro-
mote the perfection of mankind by
means of the divine influence, are
called " divine laws." Their rela-
tive degree of importance to the
natural laws of society is as that of
the regulating principle in a piece of
mechanism, to its accessories.

CHAPTER VII.

THE foregoing chapters have de-
monstrated the existence of two dis-
tinct systems of law : 1. The natu-
ral Laws of Society, which in their
perfection become civilization ; and
2. The Divine Laws. The natural
laws concern man as a member of
society independently of time and
place : Civilization depends on time
and place : The Divine laws are
dictated by the divine influence,
through the medium of a prophet
or messenger sent by the Deity, (as
were Adam, Noah, Abraham and
Moses,) and are binding on all to
whom they are imparted. We have
called one of these systems principal,
and the other accessary, because the
natural laws direct how to avoid
wrong and pursue right : Civiliza-
tion teaches to avoid impropriety,
and to pursue propriety, according
to a received standard : But the
Divine laws are intended to prepare
man for the knowledge that his soul
is immortal, and therefore capable
of true felicity, and point out to him
the means of attaining it. They teach
him what is truly wrong, which he is
to avoid ; what is truly right, which
he is to pursue ; and how to renounce
all transitory good, so as to be in-
different about being deprived of it.
In addition to this, they dictate the
most perfect rules of equity, with
respect to society, in order that the
uncertainty which pervades the
natural laws may not interfere with

that felicity which it is the special
province of the Divine laws to afford.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE inferiority of natural to Di-
vine laws has been happily expressed
by the inspired poet, in Psalm xix.
7 — 10 ; where he enumerates six
important points, in each of which
the superiority of the Divine laws is
clearly manifest. They are as fol-
low : —

1. The natural laws are insuffi-
cient to render the knowledge of
man perfect, or to affect his immor-
tality, so as to qualify his soul
to return to the land of life whence
it came to him ; as they do not ex-
tend their influence beyond doing
right and acting with propriety :
Whereas the Divine laws not only
inculcate right and propriety, but
likewise distinguish between truth
and error in the mind. This mean-
ing David conveys in the words,
" The law of the Lord is perfect,
restoring the soul."

2. Even the knowledge of what
is right or wrong, proper or impro-
per, which is all that the natural
laws are capable of embracing, can-
not by them alone be firmly and
immutably settled ; because it is
very possible, that a something may
by us be considered as proper or
improper, which in itself is not so.
For, impossible as it is that any one
should intuitively be provided with
the ability needful to carry on any
art or trade to perfection, it is
equally impossible that any Legisla-
tor, composing his laws according
to the dictates of human wisdom
only, should be free from error, so
as immutably to decide what is
proper or improper ; and therefore
his decision on any subject whatso-
ever cannot be a certain rule of con-
duct for others to adopt. In proof
of this we find that even Plato
might, and actually did, fall into
great error; for he says, "It is pro-
per that the women belonging to any
one class of society should be com-
mon to all the members of that
class, such as the great, the traders,
the labourers and so forth, respec-
tively." This Platonic rule of pro-
priety the Divine laws most strongly
condemn; as we find in Genesis xx.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE HABBIES.

3 ; where Abimelech, king of Gerar,
having taken Sarah from her hus-
band, is told, " Behold thou must
die for the woman thou hast taken :
She is a man's wife." And he justi-
fies himself by the assertion that he
was ignorant of that fact. Aristotle
likewise reprobates this rule of
Plato; and their difference of opi-
nion on this subject is a proof that
no human reason is of itself suffi-
cient to pronounce a decision on
what is proper or what is improper,
in a manner that will receive the
unqualified sanction of all men, at
all times, and in all places ; much
less can we rely on it to settle mat-
ters of superior knowledge, such
as the question, whether the uni-
verse is created or increate, or the
like. The . Divine laws alone are
able to set such questions at rest ;
and accordingly David says : " The
testimony of the Lord is sure, mak-
ing wise the simple."

3. The natural laws cannot be-
stow inward joy on their observers.
Their promises have no tendency
to afford satisfaction to the mind ;
and, even if they had, there is no
certainty or guarantee for their per-
formance. Moreover, tfieir observer
cannot promise himself any merit from
their observance: Indeed, their vague-
ness leaves him in doubt whether
his observance be meritorious at all.
But obedience to the Divine laws
will confer that inward joy, and will
afford satisfaction to the mind, be-
cause their observer is certain that
the righteousness they command is
the true righteousness, and that
their observance is really meritori-
ous ; as the Psalmist says, " The
statutes of God are righteous, and
rejoice the heart."

4. Natural laws cannot prescribe
the conduct to be observed on parti-
cular occasions, or extend their dic-
tates to any special case that may
occur. All that they can do is, to
lay down general rules, the special
application of which they leave to
the judgment of the individual.
Thus Aristotle, in his book on
ETHICS, repeatedly uses the expres-
sion, " that, in a moral respect, it
is proper always to act in a manner
most becoming the time and place : "
But he does not specify what is

becoming at particular times and
places, or what times or places are
becoming for particular actions ; he
leaves this to be decided by the com-
mon sense of every man. Again :
In the same work, (Ethica Mayna,}
he tells us, that " particular cases
must be weighed according to the
circumstances under which they oc-
cur : " But he leaves us no ruie by
which to adjust the balance, except
propriety. Had it been possible for
erring humanity to lay down uni-
form rules applicable to all cases,
Aristotle would have done it ; his
mind being as expansive, and his rea-
soning faculties as great and power-
ful, as those of any man who lived
either before or after him. But he
did not do it, because he could not.
The Divine laws alone supply this
deficiency : Thus, while in the
Ethics of Aristotle we find, " he is
pious who wisely observes a middle
course between the extreme enjoy-
ment of voluptuousness, or of eating
and drinking, and total abstinence ; "
he only adds, " Teachers of morality
recommend that man should act in a
manner becoming the time and
place, and becoming his particular
constitution and the society he
frequents." But not one of these
moral teachers instructs us when,
•where, and how it becomes us to
act. The Divine laws, on the con-
trary, explicitly direct us in every
one of these cases. They tell us
with whom, when, where, and with
what motive, we are permitted to
satisfy our sensual cravings ; what
kind of food is permitted, and from
what we are to abstain; and, while
they allow the enjoyment of wine,
forbid all excess, by command-
ing that no person in a state of
intoxication be permitted to perform
the rites of divine worship, or to
pray. Thus likewise we rind, that
moralists recommend valour as a
virtue ; but at the same time they
maintain, that it is improper for any
man to expose himself to death, except
in case it be more desirable to him to
die than to live : But they cannot,
and therefore do not, decide the par-
ticular case to which they allude.
The Divine laws, however, explicitly
declare that case to be vhenerer it
tends to glorify the name of God, and

10

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

that'then only, (as in the case of Hana-
niah, JMishael, and Azariah,) or in
combating the enemies of God and
their evil deeds, (as in the case of
Samson,) death is more desirable
than life. Thus, whilst on all mo-
mentous subjects natural laws are
insufficient, and the casuist who is
guided by them gropes about in the
dark like the blind, " the command-
ment of God is pure, enlightening
the eyes."

5. The laws of nature, being of
human origin, and consequently im-
bued with all the imperfections of
humanity, cannot decide what is
proper or improper at all times. For,
what is at one time considered as
proper and becoming, may at ano-
ther be held as quite the reverse :
As, for instance, marriage with a
sister, which in former days was
considered as becoming, but which
is at present justly held to be impro-
per. They are therefore siibject to
continual alteration or improve-
ment, as the progress of human
reason may dictate. The Divine
laws, on the contrary, originating
from the perfect wisdom of the
Deity, lay down their rules once and
for ever. They can never become
subject to any alteration, as they are

free from all error ; and their purity
insures their duration. David, there-
fore, with great justice, says, " The
fear of the Lord is clean, enduring
for ever."

6. Natural laws cannot 'decide to
a nicety on the just and proper
measure of punishment that is due
to the violator of their enactments ;
nor have they any inward control,
or the means of punishing concealed
guilt, which altogether escapes their
jurisdiction : Whereas Divine jus-
tice reaches where all human re-
search would be vain; and its laws,
weighing the motives as well as the
deed, apportion precisely the just
quantum of punishment. And al-
though it may appear as if, in this
world, the righteous man sometimes
perisheth in his right, whilst the
transgressor thrives in his guilt, the
Divine laws give us the assurance
that our existence does not termi-
nate with this life ; and that, though
on earth we may not always perceive
the perfect justice of events, it is
because that perfect justice is reserv-
ed to a future state ; or, as the Poet-
King says, " The judgments of the
Lord are true and righteous altoge-
ther."

(To be continued.')

III. JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

THE laws and precepts of the Jews are compiled in an authorized code
called the Schulchan aruch ("the table spread"). The first compila-
tion, Arbang turim, (" the four orders/') was made by R. Jacob ben
Asher ben Jechiel, a German Rabbi of the fourteenth century. It was
republished, under the name BETH JOSEPH, by R. Joseph Caro, in the
middle of the last century.

It consists of four parts. 1. Orach chaiim ("length of life") con-
tains ritual laws, precepts for general conduct, &c. 2. Joreh deang
(" teacher of knowledge ") teaches what is permitted, and what is pro-
hibited, by law. 3. Even hangezer (" rock of assistance ") contains
conjugal laws. 4. Chosken hammishpat ("breastplate of judgment")
contains civil laws.

Several commentaries have been written on this code, of which we
shall only mention the two most in use; 1. The Magen David, by R.
David ben Samuel, of Ostra, in Russia, in the middle of the seventeenth
century. 2. The Magen Abraham, by R. Abraham Gumbiner, of Kalish,
in the first half of the last century ; and also an Appendix by the com-

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT. 11

piler.. From this code we intend occasionally to give extracts; and
though the laxity of modern ideas and manners may not approve of its
minute precepts, or of the rigour of a morality and religion extending
its inward checks over every possible action and relation of life, and
equally (if not more) intent to prevent impurity of thought as of action ;
we are fully convinced, that the man who obeys the precepts of this
code, — not from habit only, or because he has been taught so to do, —
but from a sincere conviction of their high source and salutary influ-
ence, will not only be a most moral and useful member of society, but
likewise an acceptable worshipper in the eyes of his Creator. And
though the ritual and religious laws can only concern the Israelite, the
precepts for general conduct are such as any man, whatever be his
creed, may practise with advantage to himself both here and hereafter.
Orach Chaiini .- " LENGTH OF DAYS."

Paragraph I. Part the First.
Rules for rising in the Morning.

PRECEPT I. — Strengthen thyself they would be were he in the presence

like a lion, and arise in the morning of a great king. His speech and

to the service of thy Creator, as Da- manner of expression to his house-

vid says, " I will awake the morn- hold will differ much from that

ing," Psalm cviii. 2. which he would use in the presence

COMMENTARY, MAGEN DAVID. — of a mighty monarch. If man,

Strengthen thyself — Prepare thyself therefore, will hear in mind, that the

to resist temptations from without, Great King, the HOLY ONE, (blessed

and evil desires from within, which be HE 1) of whose glory the earth is

during this day may assail thee : For, full, is ever present, and observes

as is said, "Who is truly strong? his conduct, as it is written, "Can

He that subdues his passions." Like man conceal himself ever so secretly

a lion — As a lion is the most fearless that I should not see him ? saith the

of animals, so shall thou likewise, in Lord," Jer. xxiii. 24 ; — if man recol-

the performance of thy duties, fear lects this, he will be filled with fear,

nothing, but rely firmly on thy God. humility, and veneration for his God,

APPENDIX. — The verse, " I have and will be careful of his conduct

set the Lord always before me," while in his presence, that is to say,

(Psalm xvi. 8,) is the great rule of at all times. Then he will not feel

the law, and the perfection of the ashamed when men scoff at his

just who walk before God. The devotion ; and, in his greatest

conduct of a man, and his carriage privacy, even when resting upon his

and gestures, when alone in his pri- bed, he will know in whose presence

vacy, are very different from what he is.

TV. COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

THE following is taken from the book Akedath Itzchack, (" the bind-
ing of Isaac,") by R. Isaac the son of Moses, in the fourteenth century,
and republished by R. David, Provincial of Mantua, towards the close of
the sixteenth century.

" In the beginning God created heaven and earth." (Genesis i. 1.)
THE Medrash Rabba,* comment- ing on these words, adds a quotation

* Rabba, the son of Nachman, who the year 320. His fame as a teach?r was

wrote the Commentary Medrash Rabba, so widely spread, that he is said to have

was, during twenty-two years, head of the had twelve thousand students at one time

College at Sora, and died some time about under instruction.

12

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

from Psalm xviii. 35, " Thy gentle-
ness has made me great ; " and then
continues : " Simon, the son of
Asai, said, 'A mortal first recites
his name, and afterwards his titles,
as, Alon Augistilo, alon potesta, \ve
Augustulus, ruler.' But the HOLY
ONE (blessed be He ! ) does not do
so, but, after he has created the
universe, then, first he proclaims a
name/'

In order to understand this expo-
sition of the JVIedrash Rabba, and to
discover the connection between this
first verse of Genesis and this quota-
tion from the Psalms, we must re-
member that the sacred writer in
Genesis departs from the usual con-
struction of the Hebrew ; according
to which, it ought to have been :
Elohim bara beres/iith, " God created
in the beginning." * This deviation
is, however, not without its adequate
cause ; and this cause the Medrash
explains by its quotation thus : —

We can form an idea of a man
independent of his title ; as, for
instance, David the king,&c. Here we
can picture to ourselves, David the
shepherd, David the leader of Saul's
armies, David the exile, David the
king ; or David abstractedly, before
he was shepherd or military chief,

exile or king : — And the phraseology
of the verse, " Thy gentleness has
made me great," conveys to our
mind the progressive rise and title
of David ; the name DAVID convey-
ing an abstract idea, whatever expla-
natory title we may append to it.
Whereas the Creator has no proper
name abstractedly from his creation,
because we cannot at all conceive of
him abstractedly. But any name
that may be assigned to him must
be expressive of some one or other
of his attributes ; which can only be
done after the creation, and on the
existence of those beings in whose
favour these attributes are in course
of operation.

This, then, explains the difference
between the creature and the Crea-
tor : The former qnotes his own
name first, " Augustulus, ruler ; "
because he was Augustulus before
he became ruler, would remain Au-
gustulus even should he cease to
be ruler, and because his name is
altogether distinct from his title.
But the Creator has no name except
what arises from his attributes ;
therefore, such name is in itself a
title, and can only be conceived after
the creation on which that attribute
operates.

V. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

TREATISE, Brochoth. Fol. 82, page 2.

' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy

might" (Deut. vi. 5.)

R. ELIEZER asks, " Why is the ex-
pression here varied ? if with all thy
soul, what needs he add with all thy
might ? and if with all thy might,
what needs he add with all thy soul?
The answer is, Some men love their
persons more than their property To
them is said, ' Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy soul .- '

* So struck were the LXX., who com-
posed the Greek translation of the Penta-
tencli, with this deviation from the usual
rules of Hebrew construction, that, though
each translated separately and without' any
communication with his fellows, they all
.agreed in rendering it, " God created in the
l).>gi lining ; " as they feared lest the Epicu-
rean Greeks of that age might avail them-
selves of the construction of the Hebrew, to
say, The beginning created God, and thus
degrade the Creator into a creature.

Others love their property more than
their persons ; to them is said,
' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy might.' R. Akiva said,
' With all thy soul,' even if thy soul
be rent from thee."

The Rabbies taught : — Once the
tyrannical government of the Greeks
commanded that no Israelite was to
occupy himself with teaching the
law. Papus the son of Judah came
to a place where he found a crowd
collected ; and saw that R. Akiva
had assembled a congregation, and
was expounding the law. He said
to him, " Akiva, dost thou not fear
the Government, whose command
thou art transgressing ? " R. Akiva
answered : " I will tell thee a para-
ble applicable to thy question. A

MORALITY OF THE TALMVD.

]3

fox was walking alongside a river,
when he noticed the fishes crowding
together and moving about in great
perturbation. He asked them, 'What
is it that causes you so much uneasi-
ness : ' They answered : ' Fear of the
nets which man has spread for us.'
Saith the fox, ' Let me advise you ;
if you wish to be safe, come and dwell
with me on shore, as your fathers
have dwelt with mine.' Said the
fishes, ' Art thou he that is called
the most cunning of all animals ?
Thou art not cunning, but a fool : If
we are not safe at the place we are
to live in, what can we expect from
moving to a place which to us is
certain death ? ' So likewise, if we
Israelites are not safe in adhering to
the cause of the law, though it is said
in it and of it, 'This is your life
and length of days unto you,' (Deut.
xxx. 20,5 — what have we to expect
if we abandon that cause : " A very
short time afterwards R. Akiva was
apprehended, and cast into a dun-
geon. Papus the son of Judah
was also seized on, and confined in

the same prison. When R. Akiva
saw him, he asked, " Papus, What
has brought thee hither ? " who an-
swered, " Happy art thou, R. Akiva !
Thou sufferest for the cause of the
law. But woe to Papus ! His suffer-
ings arise from the idle matters of
this life."

When R. Akiva was led forth to
execution, it was the hour for saying
the Kriuth Schmang.* His sentence
was to have his flesh rent off with
iron combs. While this was being
done, he submitted to the yoke of
the kingdom of heaven.-t- His dis-
ciples who were present said, " Rab-
bi, even here ? "J He answered :
" From my earliest infancy have I
suffered ; through this expression,
' with all my soul,' even if thy soul
be rent from thee. My constant
thoughts were, ' Shall I ever be per-
mitted to obey this command ? '
And now, when I am permitted,
shall I repine ? " He then prolonged
the utterance of the word One till
his soul fled.

VI. MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

TREATISE, Brochoth.

WHEN R. Jochanan the son of
Sachai was ill and on his death-bed,
his disciples came to visit him.
When he saw them he began to
weep. " Light of Israel," said they
to him, " main pillar of the right,
thou strong hammer !§ Why dost
thou weep ? " He answered : " Were
I led forth to judgment before a
mortal king, who is here to-day and
in his grave to-morrow ; whose an-
ger, were it excited against me,
would not be lasting ; whose fetters,
were he to chain ms, could but con-
fine the body ; whose infliction of

* Kriath St-hmang — A confession of
faith which all Israelites repeat every
morning and evening, at stated hours. It
begins with the words, " Hear, O Israel !
the Lord our God, the Lord, is one I And
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart and all thy soul and all thy
might,'' &c.

t Kingdom of heaven — A talmudic
phrase, denoting "providence and the life
to come." Here it is used to express his
perfect submission to the divine will, and
readiness to sacrifice his life to his faith.

Folio 23, page 2.

death, were he to kill me, would not
be eternal ; whom ;I could mollify
with words, or bribe with gifts ; —
even then I would weep. How much
greater is my cause for tears, now
that I am to be led before the KIXG
of kings, the Holy One! Blessed
be HE who liveth and reigneth for
ever ! whose wrath, were it excited
against me, is everlasting ; whose
fetters, were he to chain me, know
no end ; whose infliction of death,
were he to kill me, would be eter-
' nal ; whom I can neither mollify

t Even here — In the midst of thy un-
equalled torments, dost thou think thyself
called upon to repeat the confession of that
faith for which thou art dying ?

|| Suffered — 'Whenever I repeated my
confession of faith I was so forcibly im-
pressed with the determination to lay down
my life for it, that I have actually felt the
torments I might be made to endure as
acutely as now when they are inflicted.

§ In talmudic phraseology a. man of
powerful intellect, who overcomes or
crushes every obstacle in the way of his
studies.

14

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

with words, nor bribe with gifts.
Moreover, there are two paths open
before me, — the one leading to bliss,
— the other to torments ; and I
know not which of them it will be
my doom to take. Then how can
I abstain from weeping ? " His dis-
ciples then said, "Our Rabbi! give
us thy blessing." He answered :

" May the fear of the Deity be as
strong on you as the fear of men ! "
One of them said, "What, no
stronger ? " He answered, " O that
it were as strong ! for you know he
that is about committing a sin says
within himself, ' I must take care
that no man seeth me.' "

VII. CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

Rosh hashanah : "

THE origin of this festival is
given in Leviticus xxiii. 23 — 25 :
" And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, saying, In the seventh month,
in the first of the month, shall ye
have a sabbath, a memorial of blow-
ing of trumpets, . an holy convoca-
tion. Ye shall do no servile work."
And also in Numbers xxix. 1 : " And
in the seventh month, on the first of
the month, ye shall have an holy
convocation ; ye shall do no servile
work : it is a day of blowing the
trumpets unto you."

Though not one of the three great
festivals, on each of which the male
population of Israel was to appear
before the Lord ; it is, nevertheless,
considered as one of the first among
the principal holydays, has as such
been celebrated by the Israelites
since the giving of the law, and is
known by the name of Rosh hash-
anah, or " new year."

As in Exodus xii. 2, we find it
said, at the institution of the Pesach,
or " Passover," " This month shall
be unto you the beginning of months ;
it shall be the first month of the year
to you ;" and as the festival we now
treat of is fixed for the seventh
month ; it behoves us to explain
why, nevertheless, it is called, and
considered as, " the new year." This
explanation we borrow from folios 168
and 263 of the Commentaries on the
Pentateuch, by R. Isaac Abarbanel,
an eminent writer of the sixteenth
century.

In the Talmud, (.Treatise, Rosh
hashanah,) we find a discussion be-
tween R. Eleazar and R. Joshua,
respecting the season in which the
creation of the world took place.
R. Eleazar asserts that the world was
created in Tishri ; (the autumnal

THE NEW YEAR.

equinox ;) whilst R. Joshua maintains
the creation to have taken place in
Nissan (the vernal equinox). Both
the Rabbies agree, that the extremes
of heat and cold (summer and win-
ter) are not adapted for production.
The difference between them is, that
R.Joshua, placing the creation at
the time of the vernal equinox, when
life and vegetation are in full deve-
lopement, maintained that, at the
creation, every thing sprung up
spontaneously, without any previous
germ. Whereas R. Eleazar, placing
the creation at the time of the au-
tumnal equinox, when the germ of
the future developement is forming
in the bosom of the earth, maintain-
ed that 'creation began with the for-
mation of the germ. Though this
discussion is decided in favour of
R. Joshua, and the Rabbies join him
in the opinion that the world was
created in the full bloom of spring ;
yet they all, including R. Joshua,
agree in dating the new year from
Tishri, or the autumnal equinox ;
agreeably to the rule laid down in
the sacred Scriptures for all compu-
tations of time ; namely, from the
commencement of the germ. Thus
we find in Genesis i. 5 : " And it was
evening, and it was morning, one
day." The day is here made to be-
gin with the evening, as the germ of
which the morning is the develope-
ment. The same principle is ob-
served in Lev. xxiii. 32 : " From
even unto even shall ye celebrate
your sabbath ;" the observance of
one day only being enacted, but to
begin with the evening as the germ
of the coming day. In confov*ruty
with this rule, the Rabbies considered
the autumnal equinox, which con-
tains the germ to be developed in
the coming year, as the commence-

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

15

ment of that year ; in which opinion
they were followed by the Chaldean
and other ancient oriental nations ;
the word Tishri, used to denote the
seventh month, being a Persian word,
and signifies " first," or "beginning."
Indeed, all the names of months at
present used by the Jews are Per-
sian, as the Hebrew has no other de-
signation for these divisions of time,
than those found in Scripture, of
"first/' "second,"' "third," &c.

The autumnal equinox being thus
upon principle held to commence the
year, its festival is celebrated as that
of the new year, and as a day of
judgment to all flesh, which is to de-
cide their fate for the coming year.
Not that it is considered as if the
destiny of man is on other days
less subject to the supremacy and
control of Providence; but it is held
that, on this particular day, the ab-
solute consequences of men's ac-
tions, and the fate of nations and of
climes, are meted out and weighed.
It is a remarkable fact, that all the
ancient astronomers, of all nations,
adopting the idea from the Jews,
have given as the sign of the zodiac
for this month, the figure of an aged
man of stern aspect, holding a pair
of scales in his right hand, and an
open book in his left ; thus plainly
expressing the religious idea of this
festival, on which justice is the rul-
ing attribute.

The blowing of trumpets, which
we find commanded both in Lev.
xxiii. 23-25, and in Num. xxix. 1, is
a rite peculiar to this festival ; and
is not only observed to this day, but
the hearing of it is obligatory
on all Jews. It has a direct refer-
ence to, and close connexion with,
the service of the day. It proclaims
the King and his day of judgment ;
as is said 1 Kings i. 39, " And they
blew the trumpet ; and all the peo-
ple exclaimed, God save the king ! "
and in Joel ii. 1, " Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm
in my holy mountain : let all the in-
habitants tremble ; for the day of
the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at
hand." It is intended to call forth
terror at the judgment ; as is written
in Exod. xix. 16, " And the voice of
the trumpet was exceeding loud; so
that all the people that were in the

camp were terrified ;" which verse is
likewise commemoratiye of the giv-
ing of the law. And in Amos iii. 6,
" Shall a trumpet be blown in the
city and the people not be terrified ?"
It likewise expresses thanks, as in
Psalms, " Hallelujah ! praise him
with trumpet sounds." It moreover
denotes the freedom from error and
transgression, which is to follow the
universal acknowledgment of the
kingdom of God ; as is written
Lev. xxv. 9, 10 : " Then shall thou
cause the trumpet of the jubilee to
sound, and proclaim liberty through-
out all the land unto all the inhabit-
ants thereof." And, lastly, it de-
notes the restoration of Israel ; as is
written Isaiah xxvii. 13 : " On that
day the great trumpet shall sound,
and those that are wandering about
in the land of Ashur, and the out-
casts from the land of Egypt, shall
come and worship the Lord on his
holy mountain at Jerusalem," All
these ideas are connected with, and
expressed by, the sounding of the
cornet this day, which is emphati-
cally called jom sikaron, " the day of
remembrance," and jom teruang,
"the day of blowing."

The service of this festival com-
prises prayers of a threefold kind :

1. Malchioth, "Of homage," to in-
voke the speedy approach of the
kingdom of God, when all mankind
will arrive at the true knowledge of
their Creator, and unite in the wor-
ship of their supreme Benefactor.

2. Sichronoth, "Of remembrance;"
acknowledging the omniscience, pro-
vidence, and exercise of supremacy
towards the individual, that it may
please an all-merciful God to remem-
ber his creatures in pity, and temper
his judgment with mercy. And,
lastly, 3. Shophroth, "Of sounding
the cornet," to celebrate that future
jubilee, when mankind will be free
from the fetters of error, and acquire
perfection in the knowledge of
their God. Therefore the prayers
which it is the duty of every Israel-
ite to recite on this festival, enume-
rate such verses of the sacred Scrip-
tures as relate to the supreme reign
of the Deity, to his omniscience and
providence,and to the trumpet which is
at once to proclaim the liberation, and
express the grateful joy, of mankind.

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OP THE JEWS.

The sacrifice of Isaac is likewise
a principal part of the commemora-
tive service of the day ; to recal the
perfect obedience of the great fathers
of our nation, and the memory of
the covenant and oath of Mount
Moriah ; and by an appeal to that
covenant to implore mercy for a sin-
ful race.

We conclude by giving transla-
tions of a few of the many soul-
stirring prayers of that day : —

" And now, O Lord our God, deign
to extend the fear of thee to all thy
works, and dread of thee to all thy
creatures ; that all that is made may
fear thee, and all that is created may
bow unto thee, and become one body
to obey thy will in singleness of
heart. For well we know, O Lord
our God, that alL dominion is before
thee, majesty is in thy power, might
in thy right hand, and thy name is
to be feared by all that thou hast
created."

" Our God ! God of our fathers !
Reign over the universe in thy glory.
Exalt thyself over all the earth in
thy splendour. And shine forth in
the excellence of thy supreme majes-
ty over all that dwelleth on thy ter-
restrial globe. That all which is
created may know thou hast created
it ; and that every being may un-
derstand that thou hast formed it ;
and all that lives and breathes may
exclaim, 'The Lord God of Israel is
King, and his supreme power ruleth
throughout the universe.' "

" Thou rememberest thy creation,
the universe, and visitest all that
was formed in days of old. Unto
thee all things concealed are mani-
fest, the manifold secrets since the
beginning of time : For there is no
oblivion before the throne of thy
glory, nor is there any concealment
before thy eye. Thou bearest in
mind all that has ever been done ;
and of all that is formed nothing is
hidden from thee. All is revealed
and known unto thee, O Lord our
God, whose view penetrates to the
end of all generations, when thou
wilt enter into the decree of investi-
gation, to examine every spirit and
soul, to recal the many deeds, and the
multifarious beings withoiit end.

Who is not visited on this day,
when the record of all that is formed
cometh before thee ? — the actions of
man and his pursuits, and the effects
of every man's deeds ; the inward
thoughts of man, and his designs,
the secret motives of his deeds.
Happy is the man who forgetteth
thee not, and the mortal who con-
firms his faith in thee ! For they
who seek thee will never stumble,
those who rely on thee will never be
put to shame ! "

" Our God ! God of our fathers,
deign in pity to us to remember the
covenant, and the mercy, and the
oath which thou didst swear unto our
father Abraham on Mount Moriah :
Let there be present \ before thee,
the binding of |his son Isaac on the
altar, when our father Abraham sub-
dued his paternal feelings of pity,
in order to obey thy will in perfect
devotion. O let thy mercy in like
manner subdue thy wrath, and in
thy great goodness turn away thine
anger from thy people, thy city, and
thine inheritance ; and perform unto
us, O Lord, our God ! the assur-
ance which thou hast given us in
thy law through Moses thy ser-
vant, "I will in mercy to them
remember the covenant of their
ancestors whom I brought forth
out of the land of Misraim, in the
sight of the nations, that I might
be their God. I am the Lord.'
(Leviticus xxvi. 45.) For the Re-
corder of all that is forgotten art
thou for ever : there is no oblivion
before the throne of thy glory ; and
the binding of Isaac, wilt thou this
day remember in mercy unto his de-
scendants. Blessed art thou, O Lord,
who rememberest the covenant."

" Our God! God of our fathers,
sound the great trumpet of our libe-
ration ; -raise the standard to collect
us that are exiled ; assemble us that
are scattered amongst the nations,
and gather us from the utmost
bounds of the earth. Bring us to
Zion in triumph, and to Jerusalem
the temple of thy holiness in ever-
lasting joy ; that we may there pre-
sent to thee the offerings of our duty
as we are commanded in thy law
through Moses thy servant."

LONDON:— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

SEVEXTH DAY OF TISHHI, 5505.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1834.

No. -2.

I. CABBALA.

THE Cabbala of tbe Jews is,
according to the assertions of its
professors, a divine, sublime, se-
cret, and infinite science, and treats
of the creation of the world, and
of the Mosaic laws. We call
it " the Cabbala of the Jews," be-
cause in its doctrines the Jewish
religion is so closely interwoven,
its references are so continual to
the sacred Scriptures, and its tech-
nical terms so purely and originally
Hebrew, that, though it may not, as
the science itself claims, date from
the beginning of time and the days
of Adam, it certainly, at some pe-
riod or other, had its origin among
the Jews. The word CABBALA sig-
nifies tradition ; and this expression
is not only to denote, that the doc-
trines of this science were verbally
transmitted, but likewise that their
transmission from mouth to mouth
was so private, that they never
were taught at any school accessible
to all. No trace of the first rise of
Cabbala is any where to be found.
Whenever and wherever it appears,
it is treated of as an old-established
and intimately-cherished science.
Should we, for instance, assume,
that the book Sohar, " Splendour,"
by R. Simon the son of Jochai,* is
the first work composed on Cabbala;
according to its contents, the
science was not only known long

• R. Simon ben Jochai, called by the
Cabbalists, " the great light," was born
some time before the destruction of the
city and temple of Jerusalem. He was a
disciple of R. Akiva. Fear of the Romans
drove him to seek shelter during twelve
years in a cavern, where he occupied him-
self with contemplations on divine subjects,
which he either taught or dictated to his
disciples, who, about sixty years after his
death, collected his treatises, and out of
them composed the celebrated work Sohar,
or " Splendour.''

before that book was composed,
but the Patriarchs themselves were
amongst its most enlightened pro-
fessors. Nor does it in any other
work appear as new, but always as
old-established, and commenting on
the sacred Scriptures. Moses, Da-
vid, Solomon, and the Prophets
must, according to the Cabbala,
have been most illustrious masters of
the science ; and, though the Cab-
balists assert that there have been
men amongst them, who, without ever
having received any instruction, and
solely through the merits of their
pious and sanctified conduct, have, by
means of inspiration or the revela-
tion of Elijah, been taught the se-
crets of Cabbala ; yet these secrets
were none other than what the Pa-
triarchs, Moses, and the blessed
characters of the Old Testament al-
ready knew, and consisted in expla-
nations of holy writ. The most ce-
lebrated of the Cabbalists never at-
tempted to spread their secret
science, or to render it general. On
the contrary, they were most cau-
tious and reserved in their communi-
cations. They rather preferred ab-
solute silence to the desecration of
their science, by imparting it to any
one who was not, through piety and
a meritorious life, properly pre-
pared to receive and preserve their
treasures. When they deigned to
afford their confidence and instruc-
tion, it was done in the strictest pri-
vacy, in some remote and undis-
turbed part of their dwellings, or
beneath the sombre shades of a fo-
rest. Should the reader, who per-
haps has heard of the mystifications
of the Rossicrucians, and other si-
milar secret societies, be tempted to
confound the Cabbalists with them,
he would fall into great error. The
Cabbalists never formed a secret
society; awful oaths, pompous ce-

18

CABBALA.

remonies, and unmeaning antics,
formed no part of their inauguration
into the profound and mysterious
science they professed. It was the
fear that its hidden and wonderful
instruction might be abused by some
unworthy listener, that impelled
them to their extreme caution and
secrecy. The written treatises on
the science were not only short, but
most obscure, full of abbreviations
and initials, speaking more by signs
than by words ; so that the writers
might be certain that whosoever was
not previously and properly initiated
in the secrets of their science, would
find their works sealed and incom-
prehensible.

As a science relating to the attri-
butes of God, the creation, and the
true meaning of the laws, its stores
are by Cabbalists considered as inex-
haustible ; and, although they admit
that the NAMELESS ONE, the Great
First Cause, is far above the ken or con-
ception of any human wisdom, they
nevertheless consider their science,
relating as it does to the most im-
portant truths, as boundless. They
believe that every professor, accord-
ing to his worth and piety, attains
to a certain degree of perfection in
their science, and that, consequently,
the same book may be differently
understood, according to the vari-
ous degrees of knowledge possessed
by the readers ; and that the further
any one penetrates into this science,
the nearer he approaches communion
with the Deity. The Divine Jaw,
according to them, is not only wise,
but is itself the Wisdom of the God-
head ; and as this Wisdom was not
created, but was the instrument of
creation, the law, which is that
wisdom, existed prior to the creation
of the world. Thence will be seen
the high dignity this science ascribes
to man, on whom the law, which is
the Wisdom of God, has been freely
bestowed.

Many are the Hebrew works that
treat of this science, and without any
attempt at mystery, announce them-
selves as teachers of Cabbala. Few of
these, however, ascend so high as the
first centuries of the Christian era ;
becausethose of that early period were
mostly ambiguous ; hiding, beneath
expressions apparently indifferent,

their profound and mystical doc-
trines, upon which their successors
offer expositions. But, with the
progress of time, this veil of secrecy
decreases, till, in the latter centuries,
several works professedly treat on the
subject.

The Rabbies of the Talmud, and
of the earliest Mcdrashim, (" Expo-
sitions,") have not, in any of their
sayings, evinced any direct connex-
ion with Cabbala, although, accord-
ing to the expositions of the latter
Cabbalists, all the doctrines of the
Talmud and Medrashim, explained
according to the rules of their sci-
ence, are embued with Cabbalistic
principles. We may justly doubt
whether these interpretations actually
convey the meaning of the Talmudic
Rabbies ; but we are compelled to
admit, that many of the Talmudic
doctrines so evidently correspond
with those of Cabbala as not to per-
mit us to doubt, that many of those
Rabbies studied Cabbala, and in
their sayings refer to its maxims ;
but, as they never openly and with-
out a veil made use of any Cab-
balistic doctrines, it is probable
that all their maxims have a double
meaning, and particularly such of
them as appear to us perfectly in-
comprehensible and void of sense.

The doctrines of Cabbala, accord-
ing to the statement of its professors,
in addition to the sublime and com-
prehensive science they teach, can
impart, to him who is properly ini-
tiated, the faculty not only to work
wonders, but to exercise powers al-
most creative. This is callerl Cabbala
mangsioth, or " active or inferior Cab-
bala ;" and we mention it here, in order
to acquaint the reader with the exte-
rior influence of Cabbala, before we
propound to him its real doctrines,
the knowledge of which this Cabbala
mangsioth does not absolutely re-
quire ; because any one, who, even
without knowing the why or where-
fore, disposes of certain letters in a
certain manner and pronounces the
words thereby produced, may effect
certain miraculous events : Conse-
quently every worker of wonders
needs not be a Cabbalist ; whereas
every Cabbalist, from the knowledge
which his science imparts, can be a
worker of wonders. We are, how.

CABBALA.

19

ever, bound to do the Cabbalists
the justice to admit, that the real
professors of this science never car-
ried it on like alchyraists, as a
means of making gold ; but they
devoted themselves to its study, be-
cause, according to their opinions,
its doctrines were Divine ; they even
considered it a heinous offence, were
any one to desecrate their science
by abusing its powers so far as to
work wonders for his own advan-
tage. To express thi?, they use
the Talmudic maxim, " He who
abuses the crown perisheth." It
was therefore not for the sake of
the wonderful powers it confers that
these men studied Cabbala, but for
the sake of the profound Divine
knowledge they believed it to im-
part. The most illustrious professors
of the science neither endeavoured
to derive individual ad vantages from,
nor to shine by, the wisdom of their
art. They mostly were poor, needy,
and, so far from seeking fame, they
concealed their knowledge, and, in
the midst of their poverty, felt more
happy than the kings of this world.

The reader will here probably de-
mand, how an Israelite, who believes
that all occurrences emanate from
Divine Providence, should at the
same time be ready to assert, that
man can by any science produce su-
pernatural effects, and that even
criminally, — consequently contrary
to the will of the Deity. To this
question, we, in the name of the
Cabbalists, must reply; that what
we call "supernatural effects" are
in reality necessary and natural con-
sequences of causes operating with-
in their hidden sphere. Moreover,
as it is not contrary to the belief
that all occurrences are from the
Deity, to maintain that man has the
free will to murder his neighbour or
not ; so it is likewise not contrary
to that belief, to maintain that a
mau may, by abusing the powers of
Cabbala, act criminally, — and con-
sequently contrary to the will of
God. Man is a free agent, and may
act contrary to the will of God ;
of which, however, he, with his free
will, is ultimately but an instrument.

Active Cabbala according to the
assertions of Cabbalists, comprises
another branch, opposite in its kind,

namely, the effects produced by the
means of impure powers, called Jrish-
oph, " sorcery ; " as there are in the
inferior world, (as we shall hereafter
detail,) impure spiritual beings, who
accompany purity as the shadow
does the light, and by means of whom
supernatural effects may likewise be
produced.

But all these assertions merely
relate to accessaries, which scarcely
deserve further notice : whilst the
essential doctrines of Cabbala cer-
tainly merit investigation, in order
to arrive at a correct idea of their
authenticity and tendency. After
having acquired the fundamental
rules of their science, which in it-
self can only be considered as a
system of philosophy, the chief oc-
cupation of Cabbalists is to apply
these rules to the letters, words,
meaning, and commands of the Mo-
saic law, in order to explain the
same. In this they always succeed
in a most surprising manner. They
find, in the positive and negative
commands of the law, a far more
sublime meaning than what is gene-
rally, but superficially, assigned to
them ; although they do not deny
the correctness of the meaning gene-
rally assigned, as far as that mean-
ing goes, they maintain that it is in-
sufficient to explain the laws of God.
And they are of opinion, that if
man, guided by his common sense
only, were capable of conceiving the
real purport and object of the Divine
laws, there would have been no oc-
casion for the Deity to reveal them ;
and man would in that case have
been justified in modifying or alter-
ing them as circumstances might re-
quire. As an instance, in our last
number, we mentioned the Divine
command to blow the cornet on the
Rosh hashana, and we there endea-
voured to explain its intent, and
connexion with the sen-ice of the
day. The Cabbalists do not deny,
that such, in the first instance,
is the intent of this command ; but
they go further, and assign other far
more sublime purposes and effects,
which they demonstrate according
to their doctrines ; and are of opi-
nion, that, if the blowing of horns
had no other purposes than such as
we enumerated, the Jews might dis-
2

pense with the observance, as other
means could be found, (for instance,
the firing of cannon,) which would
produce the same solemn impressions
even in a higher degree.

It must not, however, be sup-
posed that these opinions of the
Cabhalists, or even the admission of
the correctness of their doctrines in
general, is essential to the Jewish
faith, or that the authenticity of
this science must of necessity be
acknowledged by every Jew. No !
the Cabbalists themselves (to their
high honour) do not make the belief
in their maxims (although they con-
sider them as the real essence of re-
ligion) an indispensable condition
either to salvation, or to the being
an acceptable worshipper of the
great God of Israel. They even ad-
mit that the Jew who never heard
of Cabbala, or who contradicts its
authority, will, nevertheless, be a
real Jew, and entitled to salvation,
provided his conduct in other re-
spects be in accordance with the laws
of God, though he does not or will
not penetrate into their real meaning.
They consider the possession of
their science as a special perfection,
which every Jew is not able, and
therefore, not obliged, to attain.

Notwithstanding the many books
which have been written on this
science, its real professors are so
few, that it is possible, amongst
ten thousand Jews learned in the
la\v, not to find one conversant with
the doctrines of Cabbala. But though
the real knowledge of .their essen-
tials is thus limited, a superficial
knowledge of these doctrines is
spread amongst the Jews, and has
always exercised a powerful influence
on their general character. It is
true, that some learned and cele-
brated men amongst them altogether
reject the Cabbala, and will hear
nothing of its doctrines ; as, for
instance, Rabenu Moses Ben Mai-
mon,* (or as, from the initials of his
name, he is more generally called,
Rambam,} who not only scoffs at
Cabbala in general, but more especi-
ally at Cabbalam angsioth, of and at
which he pours forth his unqualified
reprobation. But notwithstanding
this way of thinking, he is, however,
• Vide rages 28.

acknowledged by all Jews as one of
the most eminent teachers of the law.
But this great man combated a sci-
ence which he knew only by name ;
for his extensive studies of the laws,
philosophy, and medicine did not
leave him any time for the acqui-
sition of a science, which his preju-
dices prevented his considering as
worthy of his attention. In like
manner, the opponents of Cabbala
ever were such as had not deign-
ed to make it a subject of their
studies; so that, with respect to
their opinions concerning Cabbala,
the Jews may be divided into three
classes : 1. The professors of the
science, who all assert its authentici-
ty and excellence; but their numbers
are very limited. ,2. Learned Jews,
who, though they have not studied
Cabbala, reject its system, and com-
bat its doctrines ; but their numbers
are still less. 3. Learned and un-
learned Jews, who have no know-
ledge of the doctrines of Cabbala,
but who are aware there is such a
science, and who entertain no doubts
of its authenticity. The last of these
classes form the bulk of the nation,
by whom its general character is ex-
pressed. (It will scarcely be neces-
sary to call those a fourth class, how-
ever numerous they may be, who
know nothing, and believe nothing.)
And it is a certain fact that, though
Cabbala, as we have already said,
forms no part of the Jewish faith,
yet its influence on the general cha-
racter of the nation is so strong that
even the lowest and most ignorant
Jew, provided he keeps the com-
mands of his law, is impressed with
the conviction, that these commands
have a most sublime and important
purpose; which, though he knows
nothing of it, is not the less certain.
From this conviction arises the de-
voted resignation with which the Jew,
in all ages and in all climes, has
borne the reproaches of his oppo-
nents; and, when he thus submitted
to the contumely with which he was
loaded by those who accused him of
superstitious observances, it was cer-
tainly done not from any want of acute
feelings of honour, but, on the con-
trary, from an inward sentiment of
pity for those who could contemn that
of which they knew not the worth.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

21

We confess that we are not suffi-
ciently initiated in the mysteries of
this science to be able to pronounce
any opinion respecting its merits :
But to those who might be tempted
to consider it the offspring of a
heated imagination, combined with
strong penetration, and who, there-
fore, pronounce it to be merely a
mythological philosophy of the Jews ;
founding their opinion on the fact,
that human penetration, if under
the guidance of an ardent fancy, is
liable to be misled, and the more
misled, the stronger its powers are :
— To those, we would say, Be not too
rash in forming and pronouncing
that opinion ; as, even in the slight
knowledge to which we have attained,
we are struck by the astonishing
uniformity and correspondence which
pervade the whole system, and the
reference of one part to another,
which cannot be the effect of chance,
as v.-e must suppose it to be were it
the result of successive human fan-
cies. At all events, we propose, for

(To be

the information of such of our read-
ers as may deem that, which many
consider most important, as not alto-
gether* unworthy of their attention,
occasionally to afford a liitle room
in our pages to some of the writers
on this subject, in order that they
and we may, eventually, arrive at
something like a correct estimate
respecting this mysterious science.
And be the result what it may, it
must always be important, and can
never become detrimental to the lite-
rary fame of the Jews : For if Cabbala
should prove to be merely a Jewish
system of philosophical mythology,
it will even then, in purity and sub-
limity of ideas, be as far superior to
the mythologies of all other ancient
nations, as the knowledge of the
true God is superior to any know-
ledge they possessed. The transla-
tions which, in succeeding numbers,
we intend to give, will introduce our
readers into this lofty but obscure
structure of the olden time.

continued.)

II. .METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

(Continued from page 10 J
Sepher Ikkarim :

prompt him.

BOOK OF PRINCIPLES.

DIVISION I. CHAPTER IX.

EVERY system of legislation pre-
supposes, 1. Volition, or freedom
of choice, on the part of those that
are to obey ; and 2. A purpose on the
part of the legislator. These are
evidently the first principles of all
laws; because, unless man had the
freedom of choice, he could incur
no responsibility ; and where no re-
sponsibility exists, it is futile to
enact laws or punishments. For pu-
nishment can only visit the trans-
gressor, and he only is really a trans-
gressor who has the power, and conse-
quently the choice, to do or to leave
undone. This first principle is so self-
evident, that even they who deny
the rewards and punishments of a
future state are, nevertheless, com-
pelled to admit that man has perfect
freedom of choice ; that he is not
restrained, but may shape his actions
for good or evil as his inclinations

But this volition, or
freedom of choice, being thus a
principle inherent in every system of
legislation, he greatly errs who con-
siders it as peculiarly essential to the
Divine laws ; for, though these can-
not be conceived without freedom
of choice, yet this is by no means
exclusively peculiar to them, but
what they have in common with any
and every other system of laws.
The purpose of the legislator is
likewise another first principle com-
mon to all systems of legislation,
and this purpose can be no other
than the real good (or at least what
the legislator considers as such) of
those to whom he addresses his laws.
But though his first principle is
general, yet the sublime and most
important purpose of the Divine
legislation — a purpose which no
other laws can share in, or attain,
— makes it exclusively peculiar to
the Divine laws; which alone can.

22

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE HABBIES.

and intend to, confer perfection in
this and in a future state. Accord-
ingly, we find that when Moses says,
in Deuteronomy xxx. 19, " Behold
I have set before you life and death ;
and ye shall therefore choose life ; "
his design is to inculcate the purpose
of thelegislator and men's freedom of
choice. For though we said before
that volition was a general principle
not exclusively peculiar to Divine
laws, as their purpose is, yet Moses
is induced to enumerate both, in
order to silence the assertions of
Fatalists, who deny the freedom of
choice, and of Epicureans, who
maintain that the world is governed
by chance, and consequently deny
any fixed purpose in the Divine le-
gislation ; and even those of them
who allow a general, purpose in the
creation, yet deny a special purpose
or providence. It is to refute and
correct these two opinions, which in
their progress would become equally
destructive to every system of legis-
lation, that the Divine laws inform
us there is a purpose in them, and
man is a free, and therefore a re-
sponsible, agent.

CHAPTER x.

THE essential principles of the
Divine laws are generally assumed
to be three : — 1. The existence of
the Deity: 2. Revelation: And, 3.
Rewards and punishments. And he
who denies one of these essentials
rejects the Divine laws altogether.
For if the first be not true, the se-
cond cannot have taken place ; and
without the second, the third cannot
be ; and if the third be not true in a
two-fold degree, — corporeally in this
world and spiritually in another
world, — the second is needless : For
were its purpose only to regulate so-
ciety, that purpose would require no
revelation, but might be accom-
plished by means of the natural
laws of society alone ; whereas there
can be no doubt that divine laws
enforce that perfection (of the im-
mortal soul) which natural laws have
it not in their power to bestow, as
will hereafter be proved more at
large. It is therefore evident that
the spiritual reward or punishment
is an essential principle of the Di-
vine laws ; whilst corporeal reward

or punishment is merely to indicate
the fact, that there is the like in
a future state. Hence our Rabbies,
in the chapter Cheleck, after having
said, " that every Israelite is en-
titled to eternal life," continue :
" These persons are exceptions to
that general rule, who have no
share in the life to come ; namely,
1. He who denies that the resur-
rection of the dead is inculcated
by the law of Moses." In using
the expression, " Resurrection of
the dead," they indicate the reward
or .punishment both of body and
soul ; not merely the simple rising
of the dead, but their rising to
judgment. " 2, He who denies that
the law is from God, or its revela-
tion : and 3. The Epicurean, who
denies the existence of God." Our
Rabbies likewise mention some other
principles of faith, the denial of
which entails privation of the life to
come : Yet these are not in them-
selves essential principles, but merely
branches growing out of the above
three.

CHAPTER XI.

" This is the law which Moses set before the
children of Israel." (Deut..iv. 44.)

As WE all acknowledge this law,
it is incumbent on us to consider the
same as the standard and criterion
of all divine laws, in order by means
of it to define what are their essen-
tial requisites ; as, from the confor-
mation of any one individual, we
come to the conclusion of what is
essentially requisite for the whole
species. Accordingly, the three es-
sential principles, mentioned in the
preceding chapter, are laid down
as fundamental in the chapters of
Genesis that treat of the creation.
From Genesis i. 1, " In the begin-
ning God created the heavens and
the earth," to Genesis ii. 4," These are
the generations of the heavens and
the earth," is evinced the first es-
sential principle, (the existence of
the Deity,) in contradiction to the
Epicureans, who maintain that the
world arose by chance. For the
order and the gradual formation, at
different times, of vegetables, infe-
rior animals, and lastly of beings
gifted with reason, demonstrate their
creation according to a fixed plan

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

•23

and will. In this first part of Gene-
sis it is likewise proved, that, amongst
the beings of this inferior world,
man holds the first rank, and was
the sole purpose of its creation ; in
order that he might be instrumental,
and lead to, the perfection of the
rest of the creation, namely, vegeta-
bles and animals. For as the first
working up of the raw material is
but preparatory of, and conducive
to, its final manufacture into the
article it is destined to form, so the
rest of the creation (vegetables and
animals) are but the crude materials
to which the wants of man give a
final purpose. Therefore, man was
the last created, and is more empha-
tically designated as the workman-
ship of God, — " On the day that
God created man," (Genesis v. 1,) —
in order to denote that the object
of creation was centred in him ;
for he alone is capable of conceiving
and knowing the existence of the
Creator. With man the work of
creation was completed ; and then,
and not till then, was said, " Then
were completed the heavens and the
earth, end all their hosts." (Gene-
sis ii. 1.) For the work is only
then completed when its purpose
is attained. The whole of this
narrative in Genesis is written for
the purpose of teaching us, that
whatever was done by the Creator
was so done in conformity with a
fixed plan and will ; and throughout
this chapter no other name ot the
Deity is mentioned except ELOHIM,
to denote the power of creating or
calling beings into existence.

From Genesis ii. 4, " These are
the generations of the heavens and
the earth," to Genesis iv. 1, "And
Adam knew Eve his wife," the se-
cond of the three essential princi-
ples, namely, Revelation, is evinced.
It is there said, " The Lord God com-
manded man." This is at once re-
velation and Divine law. Previously,
however, we are informed, Gen. ii.
19, "And God brought every beast
of the field and every bird of the air
unto Adam, to see what he would
call them ; and whatever the man
called every living creature that is
the name thereof." This was an
effect of his being gifted with rea-
son, and therefore more capable than

any other animal of having those
Divine laws revealed to him, which
he alone is worthy to obey. There-
fore, too, he was placed in the Gar-
den of Eden that he might enjoy
the tree of life, which grew in the
midst of the garden ; namely, the
Divine laws of revelation'of which it
is said, " She i> a tree of life to all
that adhere to her," (Proverbs Hi.
18,) and the transgressing of which
would cause him to be exiled from
that blissful abode. The fate of
Adam and Eve is related, to tell man
v hat he has to expect in this world,
where " the Serpent," or, as our
Rabbies named him, Jetzer harany,
(" evil passions,") by means of the
woman, who prevented his attaining
perfection, will endeavour to cause
his exile from the regions of bliss.
The name of the Deity introduced
throughout the whole of this rela-
tion is " the LORD GOD," to denote
that, in order to attain perfection, it
is not sufficient to believe in the ex-
istence of the Creator, merely from
the contemplation of nature which
he created ; (the ELOHIM, or powers
of the Creator, of the first chapter ;)
but that it is indispensable to ac-
knowledge and believe in revelation,
the contemplations of which are
more sublime than the former, — as
it is only by means of revelation, or
obedience to the Divine laws, that
man may, in accordance with the
will of God, enjoy the tree of life, —
which the mere belief in the exist-
ence of the Creator can never ac-
complish. But, in order to protect
man from falling into the error, that,
by the variation of these two names,
two different beings are designated,
the Divine laws, at the time of the
giving of the Decalogue tell us,
" And Elohim (God) spake all these
words," (Exodus xx. 1,) to denote
that the same Being who created the
world, revealed and gave the law.
And he begins the decalogue by
saying, " I am the Lord thy God,"
to denote that this venerated name,
which accompanied the first revelation
to Adam, and which now dictates the
law, is that of the same Being who
created the universe. And Moses,
in Deuteronomy, when he repeats
the relation of the circumstances at-
tending the giving of the Decalogue,

24

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE UABBIES.

used the words, " These words the
Lord spoke to all your assembly,"
(Deut. iv. 22,) to denote, that,
though in Exodus it is said, " ELO-
HIM spoke," both names appertain
to the same Being, — blessed be He !

From Genesis iv. 1, " And Adam
knew Eve his wife," to Gen. v. 1,
" This is the book of the generations
of man ;" the third essential princi-
ple (reward and punishment) is
evinced. The history of Cain and
Abel completes what the history of
Adam has commenced. The punish,
ment of Adam was general, and in
his person extended to the whole
species. His offence was transgress-
ing the will of God. The punish-
ment of Cain was individual, his
offence was not only a transgres-
sion of the will of God, but like-
wise the commission of wrong, in-
justice, and violence. And the Deity
cannot, and does not, suffer such
wrong to remain unpunished. In
this narrative is evinced the spe-
cial providence of the Deity ; that,
however " long-suffering" the Di-
vine wrath is towards evil-doers, (as
it was to Cain,) the punishment is,
nevertheless, sure to overtake them
as it did him, who eventually came
to a violent end ; * and entailed per-
dition on his descendants, who were
all destroyed in the flood. And
though many men of great intellec-
tual and inventive powers were
among them, such as " Javal, the
father of those who dwelt in tents,
and reared cattle," and " Jubal, the
father of all players on musical
instruments," and " Tubal Cain, the
instructer of all that wrought in
copper and iron," yet their talents
could not screen their descendants
from the punishment due to their
guilt.

Throughout the relation of all
these events the only name of the
Deity introduced is "the Lord," to
denote his especial providence,
" which rewardeth man according
to his ways, and the fruit of his
deeds " This attribute is not essen-
tial to calling forth creation, or to
grant revelation, but is an especial
divine perfection. It is a proof that

* According to the tradition of the Tal-
mud, Cain was accidentally killed ]<y
Lamech.

the Deity deigns to bestow his pro-
vidential care on the lowly beings of
this inferior world, and to aid and
protect rthem against their powerful
oppressors. Accordingly the pro-
phet says, " Thus saith the high and
lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is HOLY, I dwell on high
in holiness, and with the contrite
and humble spirit, to revive the
spirit of the lowly, and to revive the
heart of the contrite," Isaiah Ivii. 15.
In this narration of Cain we see that
the exercise of this providence is tem-
pered by mercy ; and that the gates
of repentance are opened to those
who are sincerely contrite : " Verily,
if thou doest well, thou wilt be for-
given." (Genesis iv. 6.) This is not
in conformity with the attribute of
strict justice ; and, accordingly,
throughout the whole of this rela-
tion, the name " ELOHIM," expres-
sive of strict justice, is not once
introduced.

That part of Genesis ii. 4, com-
mencing with the words, "These
are the generations of the heavens
and the earth," is a preface and
introduction to the giving of the
first law ; and the subsequent pas-
sage, (verse 1,) "This is the book
of the generations of man," is in-
tended as a title-page of what is to
follow ; as if the words had been,
" This book will treat of man ; "
and the subject is accordingly en-
tered upon : " In the day that God
created man, in the likeness of God
made he him, male and female
created he them." The variations
in the construction here made use
of are intended to convey to man a
most important truth, illustrative of
the individual reward and punish-
ment, one of the three essential prin-
ciples that have been treated of;
namely, that such reward or pun-
ishment results from, and is a con-
sequence of, the reason with which he
is gifted, and by means of which he
is in " the likeness of God ;'* that is
to say, having an individual aim and
purpose, distinct from the aim and
purpose of his species. In this re-
spect he resembles the beings of an
order superior to his own, and is not,
like inferior animals, merely the
member of a species

Man unites within himself a two-

METAPHYSICS AVD PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

23

fold nature. Gifted with reason, lie,
like the angels, forms an individual be-
ing, ha vinga peculiar and distinct pur-
pose ; therefore, it is said, " In the
likeness of God created he him," in
the singular number. In his corpo-
real capacity, however, man, like other
animals, is but member of a species,
and comprised in its general purpose,
which is denoted by the words,
" Male and female created he them,"
in the plural number. To this our
Rabbies referred in the Medrash
Rabba,* on the words, Let us make
man in our image : "With whom did
the Deity consult?" R. Joshua, the
son of Levy saith, " With the works
of heaven and earth." Until the
sixth day of creation, before man
was formed, there were but two dif-
ferent classes of beings throughout
the universe : The superior ones,
whose existence and purpose is indi-
vidual ; and the inferior or.es, whose
existence and purpose is not indi-
vidual, but collective, as members of
a race or species. The Deity, about
to produce a being composed of, and
uniting within himself, the qualities
of both these distinct classes, said to
both, " Let us make man in our
image : Like you, superior ones,
having an individual purpose : Like
you, inferior ones, a member of a
species and comprised in its general
purpose." All these precepts of the
Divine laws Abraham taught, in the
passage of Genesis xxiv. 7 : " The
Lord God of heaven, who took me
from my father's house and my na-
tive land, and who spoke to me and
swore 'to me ; " namely, that the
same who has created the superior
beings has likewise created the infe-
rior ones ; and that man, composed
of, and uniting within himself, both
classes, is capable of receiving Divine
revelation, and of being an object of
special providence.

CHAPTER XII.

THE doctrine, that the world was
created out of nothing, — although
necessarily admitted by every one
who believes the Divine laws, as
every one who believes in the law of
Moses necessarily admits that " the
earth opened its mouth and swal-

• Vide Xote, page 11.

lowed Korah and what to him be-
longed," (Numbers xvi. 32,) — is,
nevertheless, not indispensable to a
belief in the Divine laws, so that it
would he wrong to maintain they
cannot subsist without that precept :
And those of our wise men who held,
that the law of Moses commenced
with an account of the creation of
the world out of nothing, because it
intended to convey that the belief
therein was an essential principle of
the Divine laws, are greatly in error.

He who with Aristotle believes,
that the world is increate, as he does
not concede to the Deity the power
even to enlarge the wings of a fly, —
will assuredly not admit the miracles
of the law of Moses ; but must, by
reason of his system, refuse to be-
lieve that the Holy One (blessed be
HE ! ) has the power at once to turn
a stick into a serpent, water into
blood, and the like. This opinion
will, therefore, not allow the possibi-
lity of divine laws.

But, as it is possible to believe the
eternity of matter, out of which
the Deity created the world, ac-
cording to his fixed plan and will ;
He who entertains that opinion allows
the creative power of the Deity, and
does not, therefore, need, by reason
of his system, to refuse his belief to
the miracles related in the law of
Moses, as none of those miracles
assert the creation of something out
of nothing, but merely the trans-
muting of one substance into ano-
ther : As, for instance, the changing
of a stick into a serpent, or water
into blood, and the like. For, al-
though these are substances of a dif-
ferent nature, yet the creative power
of the Deity might so temper their
admixture, — as, for instance, to im-
pregnate one part of the water with
air, another with fire, and a third
with earth, and thus create blood,
not only apparent, but real, as is said
in Exodus vii. 21, " And the fish in
the river died, and the river stank."

Yet even this qualified opinion
is contrary to the Divine law, ac-
cording to which we are bound to
believe that the creation was formed
out of nothing. Not that this belief
is an essential principle of the Divine
laws, because they are not utterly
irreconcilable with the opinion, that

26

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

matter, though increate, is disposed of.
for the purposes of the creation, ac-
cording to the fixed plan and will of
the Deity. But thelaw of Moses makes
it obligatory on us to believe the
creation of the world out of nothing ;
as he who believes matter to be in-

create does not confine the attribute
of eternity, duration without begin-
ning or end, to the Deity only, but
supposes another eternal substance,
co-existing with the Deity,— a sup-
position contrary to the truth taught
by the Divine laws.
(To be continued. )

III.— COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

WB are induced to give another commentary on the same verse of
Genesis, on which last week we offered a short exposition. Indeed, the
number and variety of commentators on the first chapters of Genesis are
so great, that it would be impossible for us to find room for one-twen-
tieth part of them : We must, therefore, confine ourselves to a few of
the most celebrated ; and, accordingly, insert the following- extract from
the commentary, of R. Isaac Abarbanel, a learned Portuguese, of the
sixteenth century, who, after having enjoyed high honours and digni*-
ties, at the court of Lisbon, was eventually compelled to abandon his
friends, his native land, and large property, and to seek a refuge at
Amsterdam, in order to retain the faith of his fathers, His writings,
which are numerous, enjoy a very high reputation. From his exten-
sive commentary we extract the following : —

'lathe beginning Elohhn (GoD) created, eth phashamaim, the heavens and the earth.''

(Genesis i. 1.)
Elohim, (Goo.) In the Talmud, Of the first among many instances

Treatise Schwuoth, chapter Schwuoth
Tiangeduth, we read, "The names
[of God] which it is prohibited to
erase, are as follows : — Besides the
Most Holy Name composed of the
four letters, Yod, He, Van, He, [in

we quote Deuteronomy iii. 24: "O
Lord God, thou hast begun to shew
thy servant thy greatness, and thy
mighty hand ; " &c. ; and of the se-
cond, Habakkuk iii. 19, " God the
Lord is my strength." Such trans-

English rendered, the LORD,] they positions do not occur in any other
are, El, Elohim, Eloha, Adonai, names of the Deity.
Eheieh, Jah, Skaddai, Zebaoth."

Although there are thus several
names assigned to the Deity, there

3. No adjective, or other name,
ever precedes these two ; as, for in-
stance, we never find, (in Hebrew,)

are two peculiarly distinguished, "Zebaoth the Lord," but always,
namely, the first, rendered in Eng- "the Lnrrl Zphnnth • » ««>• «< ™Q~
lish, the Lord, and Elohim, GOD.
This distinction consists of the fol-
lowing points : —
1. Whenever the

Deity
himself to a prophet, or when any

the Lord eaot ; " nor " mer-
ciful Lord," but always, " the Lord
merciful," and the like.

4. The first name, LORD ,is never
reveals in the genitive case, except by means
of the names, Elohim, or El, GOD ;

prophet addresses the Deity, we as, for instance, " The Lord God of
never find, throughout the whole of Israel," "The Lord God of hosts," &c.

the sacred Scriptures, any other name
mentioned than one of these two, or
both.

2. These two names, when joined,

5. The first name is sometimes
punctuated with the same vowel
points as Elohim, and is read accord-
ingly ; but Elohim is never punctu-

often change places : As sometimes ated with the vowel points of the

the expression is, "The Lord God," first name.

and sometimes, "God the Lord." The root of the name Elohim is

COMMENTARIES O.V HOI Y WRIT.

found again in two other names,
Eloha, and Elohei. The last always
governs the genitive, as Elohei hasha-
maim, " the God of the heavens," hut
Elohim is nominative. And though
both names are always pronounced
with a ran, yet they are never writ-
ten so ; but' Eloha, without a yod,
always has the ran, except in Deute-
ronomy xxxii. J7, "They sacrificed
to devils," lo Eloha, (" who are not
God ") ; where it wants the ran, be- .
cause it is here not intended to ex-
:be name of God. To explain
all this, we observe : —

The first name denotes God ab-
stractedly, as he cannot be con-
ceived ; and relates solely to his
own being without any relative con-
nexion whatever ; thus, as the
Rabbies explained Numbers, vi. '27.
'.' They shall pronounce my name
over the children of Israel." My
name — " The name which solely re-
lates to me ; " it therefore has no
relation to any thing but to Himself
alone. But the name Elohim denotes
the emanation of all good, which
brings Him in relation with his crea-
tures ; and his creative power, which
gave existence to all he\pgs : \Yhence
this name only is alluded to in the
history of the creation; and when-
ever the powers of creation, as
evinced in nature, are mentioned by
any of the sacred writers, this name,
as in direct connexion with creation,
is expressed. When, therefore, the
prevailing idea of holy writ is to in-
dicate the Deity abstractedly, LORD
is placed before Elohim; but when
the prevailing idea refers to the
powers of creation, Elohim precedes
LOKD.

For this cause no adjective can
precede these names, because it can-
not be appended to the Deity ab-
stractedly : Nor can it follow the
first name except by means of Elo-
him, as it is only in consequence of
creation that his creatures can ap-
pend any attribute to his name.
Thence, likewise, the first name
is sometimes punctuated with the
vowel-points of Elohim, but not the
reverse ; for although we may, from
the emanation of his omnipotence,
become conscious of his Being ab-
stractedly, yet we cannot conceive

how the creative powers could ema-
nate from' that Being which is alto-
gether ^abstracted, and beyond our
comprehension. As the name denot-
ing the creative power is an emana-
tion of that abstract Being which
we cannot conceive, but only be con-
scious of, all the names derived from
the same root, namely, Elohim, Eloha,
and Elohei, contain half of the first
name of four letters, either the Yod
and He or the He and Van, and never
more than two letters out of the
four : Thence Elohim and Elohei are
never written Malah,* or " in full,"
but always wanting the Van ; where-
as Eloha, with the single exception
we have mentioned above, is never
written chaser, or, " short of the
vau ;" so that two out of the four let-
ters are always embodied.

As this name Elohim thus de-
notes the relation between the
creative power that bestows, and
his creatures that receive, it is-
likewise in Hebrew applied to those
created beings who by means of their
official situation, bestow on others
who receive. Thence angels are
called Elohim, as they are the Divine
instruments to bestow his blessings
on the world. Thence, too, the
name was imparted to idols, as their
worshippers considered them the
dispensers of every thing. It is fur-
ther extended to Judges, who dis-
pense justice to their inferiors. But,
when thus applied, the name Elohiir,
is always plural ; whereas when
limited to its original purpose of ex-
pressing the noun proper of the
Deity, it is singular ; as we likewise
find the plural termination (yod mem)
applied to other nouns proper, which
nevertheless are singular, as Ephraim,
Mizraim [Egypt]. Perhaps, the
plural termination is appended, to
express the collection of powers of
the Creator, and their relation to the
various creatures which separately
enjoy their efflux.

* Malah and chafer — The orthography
of the Holy Scriptures varies sometimes ;
as certain words are in some places spelt
•with a letter, which at other times is omit-
ted. The Masoretic writers call the first
rn'tlah or complete, and the last chaser or
" incomplete."

(To be continued.)

28

IV.— MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

(Continued from page 14 J
Hilchoth death: — ETHIC PRECEPTS.

THIS treatise, though written by R. Moses Maimonides,* is entirely
compiled from Talmudic maxims, amplified and explained by the
learned composer; and, therefore, properly comes under the head to
which we assig-n it. However simple in style, and unassuming- in
manner, its rules and lessons are replete with practical wisdom, — that
wisdom which time cannot affect, and place does not modify.

After adverting to the different passions, tempers, and dispositions of
mankind, and laying it down as a general rule, that extremes are, in all
cases, to be avoided, and that moderation in every thing is the duty of
man, he proceeds to say : —

Moreover they said, "If a wise man
becomes angry, his wisdom forsakes
him ; if a Prophet becomes angry,
the inspiration is withdrawn from
him." And therefore they recom-
mend the total eradication from the
heart and mind of every feeling of
rage or anger. The way of the righ-
teous is, — if they are insulted, they
retort not ; they hear themselves re-
viled, and answer not ; they rejoice
amidst their sufferings ; and of them
is said, " They that love him are like
the sun goirig forth in its might."
(Judges v. 31.)

SECT. 4. — Man should make it a
rule not to be loquacious, and only
to speak what the occasion absolutely
requires. Our Rabbies praised Rab,
the pupil of our holy Rabbi, "be-
cause he never uttered idle words;"
which, however, is what most men
generally indulge in. Even in his
own occupations, our Rabbies direct
man to be sparing of his words,
when' they say, " He that talks much
will sin much." And again: "The
most salutary thing for man is si-
lence." Even in teaching the law,
or any science, let the words be few,
but their meaning comprehensive.
The rule of our Rabbies was, "Let

Prophet, until Moses the Egyptian, (Mai-
monides,) there arose none like unto Mo-
ses." His writings are numerous. The
most celebrated are the Moreh Nebuchim,
(" The Instructer of the Perplexed,") a work
of moral philosophy and metaphysics ; the
Jad Chasaka, ("Strong Hand,") a com-
pendium of all Jewish Laws ; and his Com-
mentaries on the sacred Scriptures. He is
likewise the author of the Jewish Creed, ov
the Thirteen Principles of Faith.

DIVISION III.

SECT. 2. — There are, however,
some dispositions in which it is
wrong to pursue even a middle
course, but the contrary extreme to
which is at once to be embraced, as
for instance, PRIDE. It is unlawful
to balance between pride and humi-
lity ; but duty commands us to be
as humble as possible. It is not
sufficient to be merely meek, but man
ought to be truly humble. To teach
this, the sacred Scriptures relate con-
cerning Moses, that he was very
meek, more so than all other men
upon the face of the earth. (Num.
xii. 3.) Thus, likewise, our Rabbies
taught : " Be thou very, very humble
towards every one." " He that is
proud-hearted is as bad as an athe-
ist ; for it is written, Thy heart will
become proud, and thou wilt forget the
Lord thy God." In like manner?man
ought entirely to avoid wrath. And
if the correcting of his children re-
quires that he should evince his dis-
pleasure, even then he must only as-
sume the semblance of anger, with-
out harbouring the reality. For
thus said our Rabbies, " He that
abandons himself to his angry pas-
sions is like the worshipper'of idols."

• Rabenu Moses bar Maimon, was born
at Cordova, in Spain, in the year 1135, and
died in Palestine, at the age of seventy.
His residence was chiefly in Egypt, where
liis great skill in medicine obtained for him
the appointment of physician to the Fati-
mite Caliphs, and subsequently to the Agon-
bite Sultans. Alike eminent as a physi-
cian, philosopher, and teacher of the divine
laws, his unequalled talents induced subse-
quent Rabbies to say, " From Moses the

MORALITY OF THE TALMUD,

thy instruction to thy disciples be
concise." " Many words with little
meaning is folly." ^Tiich induces
Solomon to say, ''Dreams come with
much confusion, and the voice of the
fool with many words." (Eccles. v.5.)
SECT. 6. — It is forbidden to man
to make use of flattery and deceit.
He is not to feel differently in his
heart from what his mouth express-
es ; but his inward feelings are to be
in unison with his conduct, and he
is to speak as he thinks. It is like
a theft, to deceive or to mislead any
one into the entertaining of an erro-
neous opinion, and that not only an
Israelite, but even a Cuthi.* As,
for instance, he is not to sell to a
Cuthi the meat of a necela, (the car-
case of an animal that dropped dead,)
instead of meat lawfully killed. He
is not to press any one to partake of
his meal, if he is convinced in his
mind that he will not accept the in-
vitation. Nor is he to proffer his
services to one who, he is certain,
will not receive them. He is not to
induce any one to become a customer
by leading him to think that he has
done for him what, in his general
dealings, he would not have done for
any other person, unless such actu-
ally be the case. Even one word
of deceit to mislead another is for-
bidden ; but truth in words, since-
rity of mind, and a heart devoid of
guile, is the duty of every man ; as
the law ordains, " Justice, justice
shall thou observe." (Deut. xvi. 20.)
SECT. 7. — Man is not to indulge
in boisterous mirth, rude laughter,
and jeers ; nor is he to sink into
apathetic melancholy, but is to be
cheerful. For our Rabbies say,
"Idle mirth and giddiness lead to in-
decency." They forbid alike the ex-
tremes of joy or sorrow, but recom-
mend man to be cheerful, and to re-
ceive every one in a pleasant man-
ner. Man is not to be too greedy
of gain, or to strive for riches ; nor
is he to be lazy, and indulge in idle-
ness ; but he must be of a satisfied
disposition, devoting little of his time
to worldly affairs, but much to the
study and observance of the Divine

* The idolatrous inhabitants of the coun-
tries in which the compilers of the Talmud
resided are called Cuthim.

laws. However humble his lot, he
is to be cheerful and satisfied, neither
envious, rancorous, nor coveting
worldly grandeur ; for " envy, pas-
sions and ambition deprive man of
his life," as our Rabbies said.

DIVISION III.

SECT. 1. — Should a man think,
that as envy, passions, and ambition
are pernicious qualities, he will em-
brace the opposite extremes, and to
do so devote himself to abstinence ;
as, for instance, not indulge in whole-
some meat and drink, not to marry,
or occupy a respectable dwelling, or
dress becomingly, but to envelope
himself in sackcloth and haircloth, as
the idolatrous priests do. This would
be wrong ; and he that does so is
called " a sinner." Of the sacrifice
of the Nazarite that hath made a vow
in consequence of which he abstains
from wine, &c., it is said, (Num. vi.
11,) "And the Priest shall make an
atonement for him for the sin he has
committed." Our Rabbies, in con-
sequence, said, " If a Nazarite who
abstained from wine only, required
an atonement, how much greater does
he require who refuses the free gift
of providence by abstaining from that
which the Deity permits him to en-
joy?" They, therefore, recommend
that man is only to abstain from that
which is prohibited by the law, and
is not, by oath or vow, to deprive
himself of those enjoyments which
the law by its permission sanctions.
They say, " Is it not sufficient for
thee to abstain from that which the
law prohibits ? But wilt thou prohi-
bit thyself from that which the law
permits?" Constant fasting,* and
other penances beyond what the law-
ordains, are comprised in this re-
mark ; and it is with respect to them
that Solomon saith, " Be not righte-
ous overmuch, and be not overwise,
why shouldest tbou destroy thyself? "
(Eccles. vii. 16.)

SECT. 2. — Man is to impress on
his mind, that whatever he does is to
be with the intention to glorify his
Creator. His rising, his walking,

' Some zealots are in the habit of fasting
from the expiration of one Sabbath until
the commencement of the iwxt ; which cus-
tom Maimonides here reprobates.

30

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

his speech, and all his occupations
are to have that aim. If, for in-
stance, he is engaged in his daily
avocations, he is not to aim at the
gain only for its own sake, but as a
means of obtaining what his preserva-
tion requires ; such as food, raiment,
and a dwelling for himself, his wife,
and family. When eating, drinking,
or indulging in conjugal endear-
ments, his purpose is n.ot to be the
mere momentary gratification of his
desires, but he is to take only such
food as is wholesome and nourishing
and not that which is pleasant to the
palate only, if it be in any manner

pernicious. So that he is to consider
all his food as a medicine required
for his sustenance. In the midst of
his endearments he is to recollect
what is their aim ; and even when he
lies down to sleep, let it be with the
intention to arise cheerful and re-
freshed for the service of his Creator:
And thus even his sleep will be an
act of worship to that Creator. For
our Rabbles said, " Let the aim of
all thou undertakes! be the glory of
the Deity." And thus Solomon says,
" In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths." (Prov.
iii. 6.)

(To be continued.)

V.— CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

Iqm hakipurim : " THE DAY OF ATONEMENT."
(Continued from page 16.)

WITH the festival of Rosh hashana,
(" the New Year,") begins the an-
nual era called asereth ieme tscluibah,
(" the ten days of repentance,") ter-
minated by the lorn hakipurim. On
the Rosh hashana, Justice is the
attribute of the day. The doom
which it pronounces Mercy may tem-
per ; but that mercy must be im-
plored, not by prayers only, but
likewise by repentance and righte-
ousness, comprising charity. Ac-
cordingly the prayers of Rosh hashana
and of the lorn hakipurim both de-
clare that Teschuba, Tephila, and
Zedaka, " repentance, prayers, and
righteousness," (charity,) turn away
the evil doom. And as repentance —
sincere contrition for past sins, with
the firm determination to avoid the
like transgressions for the future, —
deservedly takes the first place
among these three means of invoking
mercy, the period especially devoted
to implore the Divine pardon, pre-
paratory to an amended life for the
coming year, is called " DAYS OF RE-
PENTANCE." Accordingly it is cus-
tomary to be more exact in attend-
ance at prayers, more careful in
conduct, and more liberal in charity,
during these ten days than at any
other period of the year ; in the
humble hope that sincere repentance,
evinced in deed and thought, may
induce Divine Mercy to mitigate the
sentence which strict Justice pro-
nounces on our transgressions. And

it is in this sense that the Talmud
says, (Treatise Rosh hashana, perek,
or " chapter, " the first,) R. Chres-
padoi saith, R. Jochanan said,
" Three books are opened on Rosh
hashana, — one for the confirmed just,
— one for the confirmed impious, —
and one for those between the two
extremes. The first are immediately
inscribed on the book of life ; the
second are immediately inscribed on
the book of death ; the third remain
undecided until the lorn hakipurim.
If their repentance is then found
sincere and accepted, they are in-
scribed on the first ; if found to be
but outward and rejected, they are
inscribed on the second book." And,
as no one can presume to consider
himself as confirmed just, it is only
by sincere and heartfelt contrition
that he can escape the fate of the
impious.

The origin and institution of the
lorn hakipurim is to be found in
Leviticus xvi. 29 : " And it shall be
unto you a statute for ever : in the
seventh month, on the tenth of the
month, you shall afflict your souls,
and do no work at all; the denizen,
as well as the stranger that sojourn-
eth amongst you : for on that day
shall ye be atoned for, to purify you :
from all your sins before the Lord
shall ye be purified. The first amongst
your sabbaths shall this day be unto
you, and ye shall afflict your souls :
this is an everlasting statute. And

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

31

the atonement shall be made by the
priest who has been anointed, and
consecrated, to succeed, his father
in the priesthood, and who puts on
the linen garments and the holy
garments : and he shall atone for
the holy sanctuary and for the tent
of the congregation, and for the
altar shall he atone, and for the
priests and for all the people of the
congregation : And this shall be an
everlasting statute unto you, to
make an atonement for all the chil-
dren of Israel from all their sins
once a year." And again, in Levi-
ticus xxiii. 26 : " And the Lord
spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak
unto the children of Israel, and say,
Also on the tenth day in this seventh
month is the day of atonement : it
it shall be an holy convocation unto
you ; and ye shall afflict your souls,
and offer a burnt offering unto the
Lord. And ye shall do no work in
that same day ; for it is a day of
atonement, to atone for you before
the Lord your God. And every soul
that shall not be afflicted on that
same day, he shall be cut off from
among his people: And every soul
that does any work on that same
day, that soul will I destroy from
among his people. Ye shall do no
manner of work ; this is a statute
for ever unto all your generations
and throughout all your dwellings.
It shall be unto you the first amongst
your sabbaths, and ye shall afflict
your souls ; on the ninth day of the
month at even ; from even to even
shall ye celebrate your sabbath."

Whilst the Israelites in their own
land worshipped at the altar of
their temple, and in strict accord-
ance with the rites dictated by their
God through Moses his servant, the
service of this day was equally
solemn and splendid ; it was the
only day throughout the year on
which, even the Cohen hagadol ("the
high priest") presumed to enter
the most holy sanctuary of the
temple, or to pronounce the vener-
ated and dreaded name of the Deity,
which at any other time it was un-
lawful even for him to utter. It is
our intention hereafter to narrate
the glories of this great day, while
it was still celebrated in the place
" which the Lord had chosen, there

to enthrone his name." In the pre-
sent number we must content our-
selves with giving a concise sketch
of the observances of the day as now
in use.

According to tradition the lorn
hakipurim, even before the giving of
the law, was a day of atonement
and pardon. Adam did penance and
was pardoned on this day. Abraham
entered into the covenant of the
circumcision on this day. Moses,
after he had broken the first tables,
ascended the mount again on the first
day of Elul ; so that the second forty
days expired with the lorn hakipurim,
on which day the Lord pardoned the
people, and revealed his thirteen
attributes. The Jew, therefore, ap-
proaches this (to him) most import-
ant day with mingled feelings of
holy awe and beatitude The eve is
allotted to solemn feasting ; and at
sunset the twenty-four hours' fast and
continued prayers commence. These
prayers chiefly consist of confessions
of our sins and utter unworthiness,
imploring the Divine Mercy to par-
don us.

The preparations for the fast par-
take of that awful solemnity with
which this life is quitted for a better
world. It is customary in the even-
ing for parents to bestow their bene-
diction on their children ; and the
truly pious Jew pronounces this
blessing with the fervour and heart-
felt emphasis of his dying moments.
Whosoever meet on that day, be
they previously acquainted or com-
plete strangers, they salute each
other with brotherly love and since-
rity. If any quarrel or dispute ex-
ists between two Jews, it is obligatory
on them to become reconciled before
either of them presumes to appear in
the presence of his God. He that
is conscious of having wronged his
neighbour is bound to offer repara-
tion. He that is conscious of hav-
ing offended or injured his neighbour
is bound to beg his pardon, and
appease him. The Talmud saith, in
the treatise, loma, " R. Eleazar the
son of Asaria preached, ' From all
your sins before God shall ye be
purified.' (Leviticus xvi. 30.) ' Your
sins before God only. A transgres-
sion man is guilty of towards his
God lorn hakipurim will atone : But

32

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEW3.

a transgression man is guilty of to-
wards his neigbour, lorn kepur can-
not atone until he has appeased his
neighbour.'" Hence it is custom-
ary even for intimate friends, who
have been in daily intercourse to
solicit each other's pardon, lest any
even unintentional offence remain
unappeased.

The law which ordains the observ-
ance of the day, likewise commands
the Jew " to afflict his soul." This
afflicting of the soul by means of
the body, according to tradition,
consists in abstaining from five in-
dulgences '• — eating and drinking ;
bathing; perfuming; wearing shoes;
and sexual enjoyment. And as
total abstinence is the duty of the
day itself, feasting is the duty of the
preceding day. The Talmud saith,
(Treatise lomah,} " ' Ye shall afflict
your souls on the ninth day of the
month.' R. Chiia, the son of R.
Ashi, saith, ' He that feasts on the
ninth day is considered to have fasted
on the ninth and tenth days.' The
reason is, that, after enjoying the
good things of this world, it requires
a greater command over one's pas-
sions and desires, to reduce them to
that subdued state which is to at-
tend the afflicting of the soul. For
the Jew is this day to divest himself
of all earthly passions, thoughts,
and considerations, and is to pre-
figure to himself that future state of
blessedness and purity to which in
another world he is destined." The
Akedath Itzchack,* commenting on
the words " And every soul that
shall not be afflicted on that day,
shall be cut off from among his peo-
ple," (Lev. xxiii. 29,) saith, " As
every feeling of beatitude and holy
joy is permitted on this day, the
threat is less as a punishment than as
a fact. For as the whole of the day is
devoted to the nobler part of man, —
his soul, — he that does not so devote
that day as to prepare himself for the
future state, is already cut off from
among his people with whom he
has no community of feeling, of
atonement, or of future bliss."

" This is a statute to you for ever
unto all your generations, and
throughout all your dwellings :"
Such is the Divine command ; and,
t • Vide Hebrew Review, No. 1, p. 11.

accordingly, its observance is most
strict by every one who claims the
name of Jew. Even those who make
light of other observances through-
out the year, feel — as it were involun-
tarily— impressed with the importance
of the day, and the necessity of con-
forming to the revealed will of their
Creator. They feel that an amended
course of life is commanded, and is
indeed their duty ; that the season of
repentance is at hand ; and they
hasten to mingle with that con-
gregation, to share those rites,
and utter those prayers, which, dur-
ing the preceding part of the year,
they may have neglected. And who
shall say that their repentance is not
efficacious ? " For I desire not that
the sinner should perish, but that he
should turn from his evil ways, saith
the Lord." (Ezek. xviii. 23.)

The moral influence of a day, —
when rich and poor, penetrated alike
with the sentiment of their utter
unworthiness, bow in the dust be-
fore the omniscient Judge of all,
when the wise man considers not his
wisdom as a shield, nor the wealthy
his large possessions as a protection,
but when all, with one accord of heart
and of voice, exclaim : " Pardon, O
Lord, according to thy great mercy,
the sins of this people, and of the
stranger that dwelleth amongst them,
even as thou hast pardoned from
Egypt until now: " — The moral in-
fluence of such a day is more easily
appreciated than described. But
there can be no doubt that the feel-
ings of equality and brotherly love,
which ^prevail amongst the Jews to
a greater degree, perhaps, than
amongst most other nations, does
not only originate in, but is fostered
and renewed by, the observances and
services of that day, which, more
strongly than sermons the most
eloquent, recals to our minds that
equality of the tomb which is the
lot of us all, and that future state
which nothing but obedience to our
God, and love to our fellow-men, can
secure ito us ; as the Prophet saith
in Micah vi. 8 : "It has been told to
thee, Oman, what is good, and what
the Lord requires of thee : It is but
to do justice, to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God."
(To be continued.)

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FOURTEENTH DAY OF TISHRI
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17,

5595.

No. 3.

I. CABBALA.

Pithche Jafi : " THE GATES OF JAH."
( Con tinned from page 21.)

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

THE hedge of the truth, and the
foundation of the covenant, are as
follow : Whenever the law applies
to the EXALTED ONE certain expres-
sions, as " the hand of the Lord,"
" the eyes of the Lord," and the
like, either names of members of
the human frame, or of some other
corporeal qualities, attributes, and
effects, which are limited, passive,
and mutable — as the Holy One is
neither corporeal nor has corporeal
powers — these expressions, taken li-
terally, can neither be assigned to
him, nor to the unity of the SepM~
roth * in which he conceals himself.
But the true meaning of all such ex-
pressions is solely to convey to us a
simile of the high and exalted hidden
powers which have neither limit, de-
finition, nor end. The law uses
these expressions because it is im-
possible for man to comprehend any

others. But thou must know that
these names and forms of the sacred
language are not used to express a
material form or effects present to
the human eye ; but solely to indi-
cate the spiritual powers and innate
influences the existence and effects of
which are enveloped in these words.
Thus certain powers are denoted by
the words " voice," and " motion,"
and by others like them ; but they
are spiritual, and descend gradually
from the highest Sephiroth. Ac-
cordingly it is certain, that whatever
is the power expressed by the corpo-
real member, such is likewise the
spiritual power enveloped in it ; as
from it effects are produced all of
which have their source, root, and
origin in the spiritual Sephirotk,
the powers of which gradually de-
scend, and from which all other
power emanate.

Hechal Adoshem : " THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD."
BY JECHIEL A*HKE\ASI, OF JERUSALEM.

KNOW that all beings, superior
and inferior, descend by degrees
from the Cause of all causes, — Jod,
He, Van, He; even from his own
being down to the centre of the
earth, according to the plan upon
which his wisdom has determined.
This Cause of all causes is the INFI-
NITE ; and He has get apart the
crown and all the ten Sephiroth: so
that each being receives from ano-
ther superior to himself. For every
thing is emanated, from the hidden
to the sign, from the sign to the en-

graved, from the engraved to the
hewn-out, — heavy tmarble blocks
hewn out for the exalted temple.
And this inferior world receives
from the orbital world. The orbital
world, and all its hosts, receive
from each other up to that exalted
orbit which receives from the ange-
lic world. The angelic world has
ten degrees, one higher than the
other up to the first degree, which
is the highest of the olam perad,
" separated world." Accordingly
the Targum, or translation of Jona-

* The word Sephira is either derived derstood by it, the following pages will
from spin', *." transparent,'' or from sepir, elucidate,
"speech," or " word." What is to be un-

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE IIABBIES.

than the son of Uzziel,* renders the another," and rider above rider, even

words " one calls to the other,"
(Isaiah vi. 3,) by " one receives from
the other." The principal degree of
the separated world receives from
the lowest degree of the olam aziloth,
" the distinguished world," and ac-
cordingly the prophet says, "And it
shall be on that day I will answer
the heavens, and he shall answer the
earth." (Hosea ii. 21.) All this is
done according to the will and pur-
pose of the Deity, not from any in-
herent or absolute relation between
the different degrees and worlds, as
those thought who consider the uni-
verse as increate ; but all these dif-
ferent degrees of the creation receive
light and influence from each other
in ascension, up to the Light of the
world, the Highest above all exalta-
tion, who is called INFINITE. His
emanation extends to all, but he re-
ceives from none. Each imparts
that emanation to its fellow, in a
descending degree. The giver is
called rocheb, or "rider;" and the
receiver is called nirchab, or "rode."
Hence there is one merckaba " above

up to the Highest and most Exalted
— Blessed be HE ! The giver is
called shamaim, " heaven," and the
receiver is called eretz, " earth ;" and
therefore there is heaven above hea-
ven, and earth below earth, down to
our inferior earth. This is expressed
by the translation of Jonathan ben
Uzziel : " There was one wheel on
earth;" (Ezekiel i. 15;) which he
renders, " From below to the height
of heaven." Each has front and
back ; — -front to receive, and back to
impart. All attributes, when they
impart, are called " masculine ;" and
when they receive they are called
"feminine." The ten Sephiroih,
with the sacred names that are as-
signed to them, and their order, and
the form in which they stand after
they have been set apart, are as fol-
lows : —

* CETHER.
J BINAH. f CHACHMAH.

UGEBURAH. §TlPHERETH. || (lEDULA.

Jt HOD. ff JESOD. **NEZACH.
IIH MALCHUTH.

(To be continued.)

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

(Continued from page 26 J
Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES."

DIVISION I. CHAPTER XIII.

ALTHOUGH the denial of any one
of the three essential principles laid
down in the preceding chapters, —
namely, 1. The existence of the De-
ity : 2. Revelation : And 3. Re-
wards and punishments, — involves
the rejection of the whole three, and,
with them, that of all Divine laws ;
yet it does not follow that their ad-
mission is of itself sufficient to prove
any system of laws to be Divine, se-
curing to its professors eternal feli-
city or even entitling them to be
considered as believers in a Divine
law. For, in order to be so considered,
all the branches which spring from
these three radical principles must
likewise be admitted. For, the de-

* Jonathan the son of Uzziel,' a disciple
of the elder Hilel, lived about thirty years
Ix-forp the Christian era, and translated into
the Chaldean language several partsr of the
Old Testament.

nial of the consequences which ne-
cessarily result from each of them, is
tantamount to a rejection of the
principle itself. Such branches are,
for instance : Of the first, the belief
in the unity of God, and his imma-
teriality : Of the second, the belief
in prophets as really the Messengers
of the Deity, and in the truth of
their messages : Of the third, the
belief in Providence, and that rewards
or punishments are both corporeal
and spiritual.

The necessary belief involved in
the first principle is in the unity and
immateriality of God. We must be-
lieve in a Being whose existence is
inherent, absolute, and un condition,
al ; that this Being gave existence to
all ; that whatever is, receives from
him, whereas he receives from no

* The crown, t Wisdom. 1 Understanding.

|| Greatness. § Beauty. If Might. ** Eternity.

tt Foundation. It Majesty. |||| Kingdom.

METAPHYSICS AXD PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

35

one ; that every being needs him,
whilst he needs no one hut himself.
All these, however, are consequences
resulting from his immateriality :
For, were he material, he would no
longer be ONE, and would need a
something extrinsic of himself. All
matter is composite, and every com-
position requires a compositor to join
its component parts : Consequently,
the existence of a material Deity
would not be inherent, absolute, and
unconditional, but would be altoge-
ther conditional, and dependent on
some extrinsic influence, which
caused his composition : He would
not be sufficient for himself, but
would stand in need of something
extrinsic, which would consequently
be greater than he and influence him.
The necessary belief involved in the
third principle is in the Providence
and Omniscience of the Deity. He
that denies these, — or maintains that
whatever is, is the result of neces-
sity, that it must be so and cannot
be otherwise, — either rejects rewards
and punishments altogether, or ac-
cuses the Godhead of injustice and
tyranny, by imputing to him, that
he punishes as a sinner him who in
reality is none, as he had it not in
his power to act differently from what
he did. " No ! Far be it from God
to act unjustly." (Job xxxiv. 19.)

CHAPTER XIV.

As it may be needful, more parti-
cularly and in detail, to enter into
the means of knowing the branches
above referred to, in order to distin-
guish between the true believer and
him who is not ; it must in the first
instance be stated, that it is not proper
to comprise any one of the commands
of the law of Moses either in
the radical principles or in their
branches. He who breaks any of
these commandments is a transgress-
ing Israelite, amenable to the law,
and subject to such punishment as
it inflicts ; but he is not excluded
from the pale of the believing, or in-
cluded in the number of those rene-
gadoes who have no share in the life
to come ; unless he maintains, that
the law is neither from God, nor
given to Moses on Mount Sinai;
as, in making such assertions, he
rejects the second essential principle,

Revelation. In this respect all the
commandments are of equal import-
ance, even that which ordains the
liberation of the brooding bird when
its nest is taken away. If therefore
any one of these commandments
were to be regarded as an essential
principle, every one of them must be
so regarded. And this would be a
manifest departure from the rule
which teaches, that such principles
ought to be simplified as much as
possible.

In like manner, the belief in tradi-
tion is not comprised in the three es-
sential principles : for, although it
is necessary to the belief in the Di-
vine laws, to admit the traditions of
the fathers and of the teachers of
those laws ; this, too, is a special
commandment. Such is likewise the
case respecting the belief in the im-
mutability of the law, which is sub-
ordinate to the belief in the trust-
worthiness of the messenger, of
which we shall, God willing, treat in
the third division.

That we have numbered the UNITY
OF GOD amongst the branches neces-
sarily emanating from the first essen-
tial principle, (although the belief in
that unity is likewise a special and
positive command,) is owing to the
circumstance that this belief com-
prises two distinct principles, namely,
1. That the Deity is alone without
any equal like unto himself. 2 That,
although He is one, and his existence
is inherent, absolute, and uncondi-
tional ; nevertheless he is our God ;
that is to say, he is the first and only
Cause of the manifold beings that
are in existence. The first of these
two principles is a commandment,
and, as such, ought to be believed:
The second is a branch emanating
from the essential principle of his
existence ; and has, as such, been
mentioned in its proper place.

CHAPTER XVI.

SOME of the old philosophers, who
denied all human knowledge, and
maintained that it is impossible for
man to acquire any speculative truth,
founded their opinion on the asser-
tion,— that, as all knowledge is only
the result of some prior knowledge,
this, in its turn, must have arisen
from something previous ; and that,
2

30

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE .RABBIES.

so on, in continuation, the chain of
knowledge must be infinite and with-
out any commencement ; but that
the human mind cannot comprehend
any thing infinite. They further as-
sert, that whatever is known by com-
parison is likewise no positive know-
ledge, as every comparison is liable
to be differently represented ; that,
consequently, whatever is previously
known requires no comparison ; and
that what is not previously known, it
is utterly impossible to attain by
comparison, which must ever be most
variable. These two reasons lead
them to deny the possibility of man's
acquiring any speculative knowledge.
But other sages have refuted their
opinions, and maintain that the first
assertion is contrary to truth, and
that no previous knowledge is re-
quired ; but that ideas, and conse-
quently knowledge, can arise without
previous knowledge, or even the ne-
cessity of comparison, from innate
impressions only; that is to say,
that such is one of the inherent qua-
lities of the mind, that it produces
ideas which are not the result of any
previous knowledge. This qualityin
nate in the mind, the Rabbies call
"original impressions:" By which
they intended to denote ideas which
have not their origin from any thing
external, but which arisejrom within. ;
that these innate impressions are
the foundation of all wisdom ; and
that all knowledge originates from
them. To the second assertion they
reply, that it does not follow, because
comparisons may vary, that there-
fore no instruction should be impart-
ed to the mind from them : For, as
they say, the idea is innate, but dor-
mant until called forth into life by
the comparison, and the mind coin-
cides in the opinion that knowledge,
by that means excited, is real know-
ledge. Consequently the two ways
in which knowledge reaches the mind
are perfectly natural, though they
are innate and without any trace of
their origin. The opinions last ex-
pressed seem to be fcmnded in truth ;
as we find the Holy One (blessed be
He !) reproves Job when he presumes
to complain that, according to his
opinion, the moral order is imper-
fect, in the words, "Why does he
bestow light on the wretched ?" (Job

Hi 20.) The reply of the Deity is
expressed in the following words :
" Who has put wisdom, batuchoth,"
(according to the authorized version,
" in the hidden parts ? ") " And who
hath given binah, understanding, to
the heart?" Jobxxxviii.36. The word
batuchoth has here the same meaning
as in another place in Job, security or
assurance, and is intended.to express
those innate impressions by means of
which knowledge is secured to man.
Binah denotes " perception," and,
accordingly, the whole verse reads
thus : " Who has secured to man
those innate impressions from which
alone wisdom arises ? or perception,
in order to attain knowledge by
means of comparison ? " Which fa-
culty is in Hebrew called binah,
" understanding," as our Rabbies
say, binah is "to comprehend one
thing by means of another," or " to
arrive at just conclusions from dis-
similar premises." The Divine re-
proof is consequently, " Canst thou
explain how thou hast obtained
faculties which animate beings of
another species have not ? " This is
likewise the meaning of David when
he says, " Thou desirest truth, batu-
choth, in our innate impressions ;
and, as these are from thee, all
knowledge is imparted by thee."
(Psalm li. 6.) In like manner
Solomon saith, "The Lord giveth
wisdom; from his mouth is knowledge
and understanding." The meaning is,
that all wisdomjs from God, because
dangath, " knowledge," the innate
impressions, uthbuna, and perception,
emanate from and are implanted by
Him. Thence likewise the men of
the Great Assembly,* use the follow-
ing words in the authorized form of
daily prayers : " Thou favorest the
human being with dangath, ' know-
ledge,' and teachest man binah, ' un-
derstanding.'" The meaning of which
is, " Thou hast deigned to bestow on
the whole human race innate impres-
sions, by means of which thou teach-
est man to perceive and compare."
And the prayer ends [with thanks
for the gift of dangath, or " innate im-
pressions," as they are the root of
all human knowledge. This also
led our Rabbies of blessed memory
to say, that if there is no dangat/i,
*J5zra aud his Companions.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

37

there is no binah, and vice versa;
meaning, that without innate impres-
sions there can be no binah or " per-
ception," and that without the latter
the former is vain. This is likewise
the meaning of Solomon when he
says, "When wisdom entereth thy
heart, and knowledge is pleasant
unto thy soul, discretion shall preserve
thee, and understanding keep thee."
(Prov. ii. 11.) That is, If thou art
guided by innate impressions, thou
wilt not be misled by corrupt ideas."

CHAPTER XVII.

THERE can be no doubt but every
human science has borrowed its first
principles from some other science,
on the strength of which it endea-
vours to raise the demonstration of
its own truth : As, for instance, the
mathematicians] borrow the line and
the point from natural philosophers.
This fundamental rule prevails in
every branch of speculative science,
which must borrow its first principles
from some other ; but when that
cannot be done, innate impressions
are laid down as its basis.

It is proper to inquire, " Whence
have the' Divine laws derived their
first principles?" A question more
applicable to them, than to any other
system of laws, as all others are de-
rived from innate impressions; which,
however, cannot be the case with the
Divine laws. For although the ex-
istence of the Deity can be demon-
strated, revelation, and rewards, and
punishments, cannot be demonstrated
by means of innate impressions. In
reply to this question, we say, that
the different kinds of knowledge, the
reality of which requires no further
proof, is three-fold: 1. Innate im-
pressions ; examples of which are,
that the whole is larger than a part ;
that two [objects which appear alike
to the eye are similar ; that affirma-
tive and negative cannot both be true
in the same sense of the same thing.
2. The impressions of our senses ;
such as that the fire heats, and the
snow maketh cold. 3. The impression
arising from facts so notorious that
no one can deny them ; such as that
Jerusalem, Rome, and Babylon did
exist ; and though a man may not
have seen any of these places, yet, it
will never enter into his mind to dis-

pute their existence, as there are such
multifarious evidences and historical
references, in proof of the fact. — Each
of these three sorts of knowledge is
again capable of being adduced as
evidence of the truth of certain other
principles : Thus, for instance, all
the demonstrations of the mathema-
tician rest on innate impressions :
The natural philosopher demonstrates
from the impression of the senses;
and the historian demonstrates from
facts universally admitted. What is
thus demonstrated by evidence must
be allowed to be indisputably true,
although its cause cannot be under-
stood, or is not known ; for as little
as it is possible to doubt that a tri-
angle is not a square, as little is it
possible to doubt that the magnet
draws iron, — although the cause why
it does so is not known : For what
is made evident by experience can
never be disproved.

As the essential and first principles
of the Divine laws are not all, and at
all times, demonstrated either by in-
nate impressions, — such as that the
whole is larger than a part, — or by the
evidence of the senses, such as, that
the fire warms; the Deity, in the be-
ginning of every Revelation, assigned
the means needful to evince its truth ;
namely, experience, similar to that
which proves that the magnet draws
iron ; a fact which although we are
ignorant of its cause, is nevertheless
proved to us by the impression of
our senses. And this experience,
evidenced by the senses, has always
been the essential and distinguishing
quality of every revelation of the
divine laws. — Of Adam it is said,
" And the Lord God commanded
Adam, Of every tree in the Garden
thou mayest freely eat," &c. Gen.
ii. 16. Adam's senses heard and
conceived the command, and there-
fore our Rabbies say, that, in this
first command to Adam, there is an
indication of all subsequent com-
mandments. The proof thus afforded,
by the evidence of his senses, was,
moreover, confirmed by his punish-
ment for transgressing the Divine
behest, — the foretaste of a future
state. Such was likewise the case
with the revelation to Noah, (Gen.
ix. 3,) when the Deity permitted him
and his sons to feed on flesh, which

38

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Adam was not at liberty to do : Here,
too, their senses heard, conceived,
and acted up to the divine permission.
Abraham obtained the same proof,
at the covenant of circumcision;
(Genesis xvii. 1.)— A proof which
was further vouchsafed at the
time the law was given on Mount
Sinai, after having been previously
indicated by means of the exit from
Egypt, as a special demonstration of
Divine providence. The proof then
was displayed to all the people, every
one of whom saw the lightnings, and
heard the sound of the trumpet, and
the voice of the Deity pronouncing
his will on the burning mountain.
So that the evidence of their senses
proved the reality and truth of the
Divine demonstration. (Exod. xx. 18.)
— Thus we find, that the beginning
of each revelation, was invariably
accompanied by proof positive of its
reality, through a sensible demonstra-
tion of the divine presence and will.
But to us the Divine laws are evi-
denced, 1. By the notorious fact of the
exit from Egypt : And 2. By the testi-
mony of our fathers, who, together
with an account of the proofs that
had been vouchsafed to them, trans-
mitted to us these laws as a Divine
behest imperative on us [for ever.
This is the meaning of the verse :
" Thy first word, is true ; — thy Re-
velations were so perfectly demon-
strated as true, that " all the laws of
thy righteousness are everlasting."
(Psalm cxix. 160.)

But, in order that the opinion may
not be entertained that the whole
evidence of the Divine laws rests on
tradition only, we are told by the
sacred singer of Israel : " Hearken,
O my people, to my instruction. In-
cline your ears to the words of my
mouth. I will open my mouth with
a simile. 1 will make known the
profound sayings of former days,
which we have heard and assuredly
know, and our fathers related to
us," (Psalm Ixxviii. 1-3.) We are
here informed, not only that we
have heard it from our fathers, but
that we know it from the notorious
and well-authenticated fact of the exit
from Egypt, and likewise from the ex-
istence of theDeity. Further it is said,
" He established a testimony in Ja-
cob and confirmed his laws in Israel,

which he commanded to our fathers.
To make them known to their chil-
dren," (Psalm Ixxviii. 5.) Our fathers
had testimony evident to their senses ;
whereas to us it is an inherited reve-
lation.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A QUESTION here fairly arises :
" As tradition is thus absolutely
needful in order to believe in the Di-
vine laws, by what means are we to
know how to distinguish truth from
imposture: those laws which'actually
are Divine from those which only
pretend to be so, when both rest on
tradition ? " The answer is : The
distinguishing marks are two-fold :
1. Intrinsic marks; and 2. Those
which result from the messenger that
delivered them! The first, the in-
trinsic, requires that the system
should admit and embody the three
essential principles laid down in
former chapters, together with all
the branches derived from them.
The system of laws which comprises
all these is Divine ; that which does
not is spurious. The second, result-
ing from the messenger that deliver-
ed them, rests on the fact, whether
or not his prophetic mission was so
universally and invariably approved
as to demonstrate his being the
bearer of a Divine dispensation :
This may be done in a two-fold man-
ner ; either by the dispensation being
approved as intrinsically true in its
first cause and qualities, or by its be-
coming so from circumstances. This
will be better illustrated by a simile :
Two apothecaries, presenting them-
selves before an assembly of learned
physicians, produce and recommend
each a different medicine. The one
takes each ingredient separately,
demonstrates its effects, and proves
it to be a universal medicine, effica-
cious in every disease, by applying
it successfully to different patients ;
so that the result of experience con-
firms his assertion, which it would
have done in its general operation,
even if the effect of each separate in-
gredient had not been evinced. The
second, instead of demonstrating the
efficacy of his nostrum by analyzing
its ingredients, or by applying it to
the cure of distempers, endeavours
to establish its superiority by passing
unhurt through the fire, by walking

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

on the sea without sinking, and by
displaying these his wondrous pow-
ers in the presence of assembled
multitudes. But, however wonder-
ful this display may be, it has no con-
nexion with, and therefore does not
prove, the efficacy of his medicine.
In like manner the Prophet, who
gives some wonderful sign, as that
of traversing fire and water unhurt,
does certainly prove that he is a
man capable of performing wonders ;
but does not thereby prove the real-
ity of his prophetic mission, and
much less that of the law which he
endeavours to promulgate. Thus all
the miracles which Moses performed
only served to evince, that he was
gifted and entrusted with the power
to work such miracles ; but they are
no proofs of the divine origin of the
laws which he gave. The Israelites be-
lieved in him as the servant of God
highly favoured in being held worthy
of communion with the Deity ; but
they did not believe in him as the
promulgator of Divine laws. There-
fore the Deity said to him, " Behold
I come to thee in a thick cloud, in
order that the people may hear whilst
I speak to thee, and believe in thee
likewise for ever/' (Exodus Ixxx,)
and accordingly the people said,
"Verily the Lord our God hath
shewn us his glory and his
greatness ; and we have heard his
voice out of the midst of the fire :
this day we have seen that God
speaketh to man, and he may yet
live." (Deut. v. 21.) They therefore
did, and do, believe in him for ever.
A prophet proves the reality of his
prophetic mission by predicting fu-
ture events, or by miracles ; and
there is a special commandment en-
joining us to obey the prophet, even
though he directs the temporary
breach of any one commandment ; as
was the case with Elijah on Mount
Camel : But he must be an ap-
proved prophet, as is said 1 Samuel
iii. 20: "And all Israel from Dan
unto Beersheba knew that Samuel
was approved as a prophet to the
Lord." To illustrate this, we gave
as an instance the simile of a medi-
cine which has established its effi-

worketh wonders, so long as there is
no falsehood in his predictions. For,
although he may be previously
known as a prophet ; yet should he
predict that which is not fulfilled, it
is a proof that "the prophet has spoken
presumptuously ; " (Deut. xviii. 22 ;)
" For God is not a man that he
should lie," (Num. xxiii. 19-) Such
was the case with Hananiah ben Eser,
(Jer. xxviii. 1,) who, as our Rabbies
say in the Talmud, (Treatise, San-
hedrim,) was actually a prophet, but
presumed to predict what he was
not directed to say. " For he has
spoken in a false, prevaricating man-
ner respecting the Lord your God."
(Deut. xiii. 6.)

The messenger, by means of whom
a law is to be promulgated, would
never presume to say ought but what
is dictated to him, and would not be
called "a messenger" unless his
mission bore intrinsic evidence of its
truth. Not by the working of iconders :
For these may be produced by means,
which, though we cannot conceive
them, are nevertheless not from God,
as was done by the Egyptian ma-
gicians. Nor yet by predictions of
future events : As he might at one
time have been a true prophet, and
might subsequently have deviated.
But if his mission has been approved,
and he has been clearly evidenced as
a Divine messenger, no further fears
can be entertained of his veracity ;
and it becomes impossible for him to
utter an untruth. Such a mission,
clearly proved beyond the possibility
of doubt, was that of Mount Sinai,
when it is said, " God is come to
evince himself to you," (Exodus xx.
20.) And again : " For who of all
flesh that has heard the voice of the
living God speaking out of the midst
of the fire as we have done, yet re-
mains alive. Do thou approach and
hear all that the Lord our God shall
say. And speak thou unto us all"
that the Lord our God will say to
thee, and we will hear it and do it.
(Deut. v. 23, 24.) And as the Isra-
elites on that occasion were all pro-
phets favoured with a sensible de-
monstration of the presence of the
Deity, they

had that perfect proof

cacy on many occasions. of the legation of Moses which left

The command is to obey the pro- no room either for further doubt or
phet who predicts future events and for further confirmation.
(To be continued.)

40

III.— MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

(Continued from page 30 J
Hilchoth death : — ETHIC PRECEPTS.

DIVISION v.

SECT. 1. — As the Sage is known
and distinguished by his wisdom, so
must he likewise be known and dis-
tinguished by his conduct, in his
nourishment, appearance, discourse,
and transactions; as order and pro-
priety ought to be observable in all
his undertakings. He must not be
greedy in his food ; for it is said,
" I will spread over you the offals of
your feasts ; " and our Rabbies say,
this relates to the gormandiser, whose
life is one course of greedy feasting,
and who says, " Let us eat and drink,
for to-morrow we" must "die."
(Isaiah xxii. 13.) The wise man, on
the contrary, is satisfied with a mode-
rate meal ; and of him it is said,
" The just eats to satisfy his wants."
(Prov. xiii. 25.)

SECT. 2. — Decency requires that
meals should be taken in a house,
at a table properly laid out ; but not
in a shop, and by no means in the
street ; (unless indeed compelled by
necessity ;) in order to avoid the
contemptuous opinion of men.

SECT. 3. — Never drink to excess.
He that drinks till he becomes in-
ebriated is called "a sinner," and
" a detestable being." If a wise man
indulges in this pernicious habit, he
loses his wisdom, and becomes a
disgrace to his Creator.

SECT. 4. — Man's conduct must be
holy. Even in his intercourse with
his wife, let him not indulge in un-
becoming expressions towards her.
Our Rabbies said, in explanation of
the verse "Who declareth to man
what is his secret converse ? " (Amos
iv. 13 ;) " even for the most trivial
conversation in which a man may
indulge towards his wife he will be
called to account."

SECT. 7. — Do not be vehement in
thy conversation, talking with a
loud voice, and making a noise like
the beasts of the field ; but let thy
words be uttered meekly, and be-
ware not to overstep the line which
divides propriety from arrogancy.
Salute every one in a friendly man-
ner, so that all may be at ease in thy
presence. Judge favourably of every

man. Speak well of every one, and
disrespectfully of no one. Love
peace, and pursue good will. Seek
not to appease thy neighbour whilst
his anger is at the highest." Per-
suade him not against his vow the
instant he makes it. Attempt not
to console him whilst the dead for
whom he is mourning is yet in his
sight. Force not thy presence on
thy neighbour when first disgrace
weighs heavy on him. Do not un-
say what once thou hast promised.
Do not pervert thy meaning, to add
or diminish ; but let thy word be
sacred to thee. Be sparing of words,
and confine thy speech to what the
occasion requires. Do not converse
with women in the street ; not even
with thy own wife, sister, or daugh-
ter.

SECT. 8. — Walk not with a proud
step, or overbearing manner, for it
called forth this reproof: "The
daughters of Zion are proud, and
walk with their necks stretched forth
and with wanton looks." (Isaiah iii.
16.) Neither walk bent double, or
with a stealthy pace ; nor run too
fast ; but carry thyself modestly,
and walk steadily, as thy occupation
requires. The wise man may be dis-
tinguished from the fool by his walk ;
for it is said, " When the fool walk-
eth on the road he proclaims himself
a fool."

SECT. 9. — In thy exterior appear-
ance be neither slovenly, nor too par-
ticular, neither too costly nor too
mean. Avoid ostentation, even if
thy circumstances permit it.

SECT. 10. — Regulate thyself ac-
cording to thy situation of life ; and
maintain the inmates of thy house in
a manner corresponding with thy
means. Indulge in no expense be-
yond what thy fortune permits. Let
thy table be considerably within thy
means ; thy dress and appearance
according to thy means ; but the
comforts of thy wife and children
beyond thy means.

SECT. 11. — A moral man endea-
vours, in the first instance, to have a
trade that can maintain him; his
next care is to have a respectable

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

41

dwelling, and then to seek a wife.
This order is expressed in the law,
where he enumerates first the man
who builds a house, then the man
who plants a vineyard, and lastly, he
that has taken a wife. (Deut. xii. 5.)
Those who infringe or pervert this
gradation are generally very poor,
and burthensome to their neighbours.
And accordingly the inverted order
is denounced as a curse in Deutero-
nomy xxviii. 30, " Thou shalt take a
wife, &c. ; build a house, &c. ; and
plant a vineyard," &c. But, on the
contrary, a blessing attends the pru-
dent man, as it is said, "David was
prudent in all his ways, and the Lord
was with him." (1 Sam. xviii. 15.)
SECT. 13. — A man's dealings must

be honest and upright. Let his yea
be yea, and his nay be nay. Let him
be rigidly exact when he has to pay,
and forbearing when he has to re-
ceive. He must not at all delay just
payments ; and if he has been
obliged to sue another, and has
obtained judgment in his favour, let
him be merciful, patient, and for-
bearing. He is not to injure his
neighbour in any way, and never to
cause grief to any man. The general
rule is, to be of those that are perse-
cuted, but not of those who perse-
cute, of those that are injured but
injure not. Of such it is said,
" He shall say to me, Thou art my
servant, Israel, with whom I praise
myself."

(To be continued.)

IV. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.
THE TALMUD. No. II.

(Continued from page 6.)

THE bird's eye view which we have given our readers will enable them
to form some idea of the general merits and the arrangement of the
Talmud. In order to point out the extent of its authority, and the cir-
cumstances which communicated, and limited, to it that authority,
we are induced to turn to the best source of information, and accord-
ingly submit a translation of the introduction to the Jad Chasaka, " the
Strong Hand," a compendium of all Jewish laws, by the celebrated
Rabenu Moses Maimonides. We shall subsequently enter into a detailed
examination of each of the thirty-six treatises of the Talmud ; and trust
by that means to enable our readers to judge for themselves, and, if such
a result be possible, to arrive at a correct estimate of that unequalled
compilation, which, during so many centuries, has employed multitudes
of minds and pens in attacking or defending it.

Introduction to the Jad Chasaka : " STRONG HAND."
BY MAIMONIDES.

ALL the laws that were given to
Moses at Mount Sinai were given with
their interpretations, as it is said, "I
give to thee the tables of stone and
the torah ' law,' and mitzeca 'com-
mandment.'" (Exod. xxiv. 12.) The
torah "law" means the written
law, and mitzeca, the " command-
ment," is its " interpretation." He
directed us to observe the law in con-
formity to its interpretation. Mitzeca,
or "commandment," is generally
called torah shebalpeh, " oral law."
The whole of the torah our teacher

Moses wrote in legible characters,
previous to his death, and bequeathed
a copy to each of the twelve tribes.
Another copy he put into the ark as
a record ; as is written: "Take this
book of the law, and place it along-
side of the ark of the covenant of
God." (Deut. xxxi. 6.) The rr.it-
zeva, or " interpretation," he did
not write down, but commanded its
observance verbally to the Elders,
and to Joshua and to the rest of the
Israelites, as it is said, " All the
words which I command you, ye

42

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

shall be careful to observe." (Deut,
xvii. 19.) Thence it is called, "ver-
bal or oral law." Although this oral
law was not preserved in writing,
Moses taught the whole of it to the
Seventy Elders who composed his
beth-din. or " tribunal." Eleazar the
priest, Phineas his son, and Joshua
were all three likewise instructed by
Moses, and the latter, who was his
disciple, he particularly instructed
and directed in the observance of this
oral law. Joshua, throughout the
whole of his lifetime gave his instruc-
tions verbally. Many elders were
taught by him. From them, and
from Pnineas the priest, the oral
law was transmitted to Eli. By him
and his tribunal the tradition was
handed to Samuel, from whom David
received the same Achija the Shi-
lonite was one of those who went out
from Egypt, and a Levite who had
heard the instruction of Moses. He
was young in the days of Moses, and
he received the tradition from David
and bis tribunal. Elijah succeeded
Achija the Shilonite and his tribunal,
and was followed by Elisha and his
tribunal. Johiadathe priest succeeded
Elisha. His son Zachariah received
the tradition from him, and trans-
mitted it to Hosea the prophet ; who
was succeeded by Amos, from whom
and whose tribunal Isaiah received
the tradition. Micah was his suc-
cessor, and was followed by Joel, who
was succeeded by Nahum. He trans-
mitted the tradition to Habakkuk,
from whom Zephaniah received it.
Jeremiah succeeded, and transmitted
it to Baruch ben Neria. Ezra and his
tribunal received from him. The as-
sessors of Esra's tribunal were called

THE MEN OF THE GREAT ASSEMBLY ;

and they were Haggai, Zachariah,
Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, Nehemia, ben Chachalia,
Mordechai, Balshan, Zerubbabel,
and several other sages, to the full
number of one hundred and twenty.
The last of these hundred and
twenty was Simon the Just, who re-
ceived the oral laws from all those
whom he survived. He was the
Cohen yadol, "high priest," next in
succession to Ezra. Antigonus, a
man of Socho, was the successor of
Simon the Just. [For the continua-
tion of this list, we refer our readers

to page 4 of this Review.] The five
pupils of R. Jochanan ben Sachai,
were R. Eleazar ben Hurkanus,
called hagaclol the great, R. Joshua,
R. Jose Cohen, R. Simeon ben Na-
thanael, and R. Eleazar ben Aroch. R.
Akiva succeeded R. Eleazar hagadol.
His father Joseph was a proselyte.
R. Ismael, and R. Meir, who was
likewise the son of a proselyte, suc-
ceeded R. Akiva. R. Meir and his
associates likewise learned from R.
Ismael. The associates of R, Meir
were R. Jehuda, R. Jose, R. Sime-
on, R. Nehemiah, R. Eleazar
ben Shamuang, R. Jochanan the
sandal-maker, R. Simon ben Asai,
R Chanina ben Teradion. In like
manner the associates of R. Akiva
were instructed by R. Eleazar haga-
dol: They were R.Tarphon the teacher
of R. Jose the Galilean, R. Simon
ben Eleazar, and R. Jochanan ben
Nuri. R. Gamaliel the elder received
the tradition from his father R.
Simon, a son of Hillel the elder;
whose son II. Simon followed him,
and was succeeded by R. Gamaliel
his son ; whose son Simon the third
followed him. R. Jehuda the son of
this R. Simon is generally called
Rabenu hakadosh, "our holy Rabbi : "
he succeeded his father, and likewise
had the tradition transmitted to him
by R. Eleazar ben Shamuang, and by
R. Simeon and his associates.

Our holy Rabbi compiled the
MISHNA ; and from the death of
Moses our teacher until the time of
our holy Rabbi, no book was com-
posed for the instruction of the com-
munity at large which contained the
oral law ; but in every generation the
chief of the tribunal, or the prophet
who then lived, wrote for his own
guidance what he remembered to
have heard from his instructer. But
he taught it verbally in public. In
like manner each one, according to
his talents, wrote the oral laws for
his own guidance, and the interpre-
tation of the torah and its observ-
ances as he had heard them, and
likewise the judgments and decisions
which had been pronounced in every
age ; which decisions they had not
orally learned, but which they deli-
vered according to the thirteen rules
of logical reasoning, and which were
authenticated by the Great Tri-

CRITICAL ..'OX OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

43

bunal. This was the constant
practice until the days of our
our holy Rabbi ; who collected the
whole of the oral instructions, and
the decisions, and all the commenta-
ries and interpretations, which had
been received by word of mouth
from Moses, and which the succes-
th-clin, or " tribunals," of every
age had expounded on the whole of
the torah : From .all of which he
compiled the book Jlishna, and
taught it to wise men in the public
assembly. Thus it was made known
to all Israel, who copied it, and
spread it every where, in order that
the verbal law might not be lost to
Israel. Should it be asked, " Why
did our holy Rabbi depart from
the usual course ? " the answer is,
Because he sa\v that the number of
disciples was continually decreasing
whilst persecutions were increasing ;
that the rule of tyranny prevail-
ed and overspread the world, and
Isra&l was in continued commotion,
and scattered to the utmost ends of
the earth. He therefore compiled a
work to be in the hands of all, that
they might speedily learn and not
forget it. He and his tribunal occu-
pied themselves throughout his
whole life-time in constant and pub-
lic instruction. And these are the
great sages who were members of his
tribunal, or who succeeded him :
Simeon and Gamaliel the sons of R.
Jehuda, R. Ephes, Chanina ben
Chama, R. Ciiija, Rab, R. Janai,
bar Caphara, Samuel, R. Jochanan,
R. Ho-ea, and with them thousands
of other learned men.

Although the eleven here enumer-
ated were pupils of our holy Rabbi,
and remained by his instruction, R.
Jochanan was the yougest among
them, and but a youth. He after-
wards became the disciple of R.
Janai, and received the tradition
from him. Rab likewise learned
from R. Janai, whilst Samuel was
instructed by R. Chanina ben Cha-
ma. Rab composed Siphra and Si-
pfiri, to expound and elucidate the
principles of the Mishna. R. Chija
composed Tosephla, to explain its
different subjects and their causes ;
and R. Hosea and bar Caphara toge-
ther composed Beractha to interpret
the contents of the Mishna.

R. Jochanan compiled the JERU-
SALEM TALMUD in Palestine, about
two hundred years after the destruc-
tion of the second temple. As the
greatest of the sages who succeeded
Rab and Samuel, we mention, R.
Hun'', R. Jehuda, R. Nachman, R.
Gaana ; and of those who succeeded
R. Jochanan we likewise mention
Rabbah the grandson of Chanah,
R. Ami, R.Assi, R. Dimi, and R- Abon.

Amongst the number of sages who
succeeded R. Huna and R. Jehuda
we mention Rabba and R. Joseph the
blind. Amongst their successors we
name Abajah and Ravah, both of whom
likewise received instruction from R.
Nachman. Amongst the number of
sages who received instruction from
Ravah . were, R. Ashi and R.
Avina. Mar, the son of R. Ashi,
received instruction from his father
and from R. Avina. Thus you find
forty generations from R. Ashi up to
Moses, our teacher of blessed me-
mory, who was instructed by the
Deity himself. And thus you find
that their traditions in an uninter-
rupted chain are all from the Lord
God of Israel.

All the sages that have been enu-
merated were the greatest of their
respective ages; some of them were
heads of colleges, some of them heads
of the captivity, some of them mem-
bers of the Great Sanhedrim ; and in
every age thousands and tens of
thousands of their contemporaries
heard from, and were instructed by,
them. R. Avina and R. Ashi were
the last of the Talmudic Doctors. R.
Ashi compiled the Babylonic Tal-
mud, in the land of Shinnaar, (Chal-
dea,) about one hundred years after
the compilation of the Jerusalem
Talmud by R. Jochanan. Thr
ject of both the Talmuds is the ex-
planation of the contents of the
jUishnaioth, and an interpretation of
its difficulties; likewise what had
been decided in every age since the
decease of our holy Rabbi. By
these two Talmuds, by Toscphta,
Siphra, Siphri, and the Tosephtotk ;
by all of them is made manifest what
is prohibited or permitted ; what is
clean or unclean ; guilty or not
guilty ; what is unlawful or legal, as
it had been transmitted from man to
man, even from the mouth of Moses
G 2

44

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

at Sinai. By them likewise are
made manifest the commands of our
Rabbies, and of the prophets who
were in each succeeding age, in order
to make a fence round the law, as
they had plainly been directed by
Moses, who said, "And ye shall ob-
serve my statutes ; " (Levit.xix. 37 ;)
that is, Ye shall make a guard to my
statutes. By them are likewise ex-
plained the customs and decrees
which were enacted and practised in
every age, as the beth-din of that age
approved them, and from which it
was prohibited to depart : As it is
said, " Thou shalt not deviate from
the word which they will tell thee
either to the right or the left."
(Deut. xvii. 110 The judgments
and difficult decisions are likewise
explained, which had not been re-
ceived from Moses, but which the
respective tribunals of the age deci-
ded in conformity with the thirteen
logical rules according to which the
law is expounded : Concerning
which decisions the elders pronounc-
ed, "Such is the law." All these
R. Ashi compiled in the Talmud,
from the days of Moses to his own
times. The Doctors of the Mishna
likewise composed other works to in-
terpret the words of the torah. R.
Hosea,apupilof our holy Rabbi com-
posed a Commentary on the book of
Bereshit h, "Genesis ; " and R. Ismael
commented on Schemoth, " Exodus,"
and on the rest of the Pentateuch ;
which Commentary is called Mechilta.
R. Akiva had likewise written a Me-
chilta ; and many other sages after
them wrote Medrashim, or "Exposi-
tions." But all these were composed
previous to the Babylonian Talmud.
Consequently R. Avina and R. Ashi,
and their associates, were the last of
the great sages of Israel to whose
guardianship the transmission of the
verbal laws was confided, — who de-
creed ordinances, enacted statutes,
laid down customs, and extended
such ordinances, statutes, and cus-
toms to all Israel, in all their habita-
tions.

After the beth-din of R. Ashi, who
composed the Talmud, and in the
days of hir son who completed it,
Israel was still more widely scattered
throughout all the nations, and ex-
tended even to the most distant

shores and isles. Dissensions in-
creased in the world. Warlike hosts
rendered the roads unsafe. The
study of the law decreased, and Is-
raelites did not, as in former days,
assemble by thousands and tens of
thousands in their colleges. Only a
few individuals, whom the Lord
deigned to call, joined themselves
together in their respective cities and
countries, occupied themselves with
the study of the law, and understood
all the writings of the sages ; by
means of which they knew tho deci-
sion which justice dictated. Each
beth-din, or " tribunal," that arose
subsequent to the compilation of
the Talmud, and that decreed, or
enacted, or laid down customs to its
own countrymen, or to the inhabit-
ants of different countries, did not
extend its authority to all the Israel-
ites, owing to the distance of their
habitations, and the unsafe state of
the roads. As the tribunals of these
countries were individual, and as the
great beth-din of Seventy-one with
whom rested all final decisions had
ceased to exist many years previous
to the compilation of the Talmud,
the inhabitants of one country are
not compelled to observe the cus-
toms of another country ; and one
beth-din cannot be called upon to
enforce the decrees enacted by that
of another land. And thus, like-
wise, if one of the Gaonim, " princi-
pal Rabbies," pronounced a certain
decision or judgment, and if another
tribunal was of opinion that such
decision was not in conformity to
the Talmud, it was left to the option
of individuals to adhere to the deci-
sion of the former or to that of the
latter. This relates to decisions,
ordinances, enactments, and customs,
originating since the compilation of
the Talmud. But whatever is con-
tained in the Babylonian Talmud is
obligatory on all Israel to abide by.
And it is compulsory on each city or
country to observe all the customs
laid down by the Talmudic Doctors,
to enforce their decrees, and to obey
their enactments ; because all those
things which are contained in the
Talmud have been authenticated and
legalized by all Israel ; and those
sages who authorized, or decreed, or
enacted, or demonstrated a decision,

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

45

and taught such to be the law, had
received the principles of the law by
tradition, from age to age up to the
days of Moses our teacher. The
sages who arose after the compila-
tion of the Talmud, and demonstrat-
ed therefrom, and gained favour by
their wisdom, are called Gaonim. All
these Gaonim who arose either in the
land of Israel, or of Shinnar, (" Chal-
dea,") or in Spkard, (/f Spain,") or
Zarphath, (" France,") and taught
the principles of the Talmud, eluci-
dated its profound sayings, and ex-
pounded those passages in it the
meaning of which is extremely diffi-
cult in itself. In addition to which
it is written in Aramaic, intermixed
with other languages ; the former
was the vernacular tongue amongst
the men of Shinnar at the time the
Talmud was compiled. But in other
places, and likewise in Shinnar, in
the days of the Gaonim, that language
was no longer understood unless by
tuition.

As the 'inhabitants of different
cities directed many questions to the
Gaon of every respective age, that he
might expound to them the difficult
passages of the Talmud, to which he
replied according to the measure of
ta ents with which he was gifted ;
those who asked the questions col-
lected the answers, and formed them
together into books for their instruc-
tion. Each of the Gaonim in every

age likewise composed works of
their own accord, to explain the
Talmud : some of them on solitary
decisions, others on single chapters,
which, in their time, were considered
as difficult ; and some of them ex-
pounded entire treatises and volumes.
They likewise pronounced and wrote
decisions on subjects of prohibition
and permission, guilt or acquittal ;
and on such matters as the occasion
required, in order that they might be
within the reach of the understand-
ing of those who could not penetrate
the depths of the Talmud. And thas
is the work of the Lord with which
all the Gaonim, " principal teachers,"
of Israel occupied themselves, from
the day when the Talmud was com-
piled until this present time, which
is the eighth after 1 100 since the de-
struction of the temple, or in the
year 4937 since the creation of the
world. At this present time perse-
cutions are become exceeding strong;
the pressure of the times weighs hea-
vily on all ; the wisdom of our sages
is lost ; and the understanding of
our wise men is concealed from us ;
so that the expositions, decisions,
and replies which the Gaonim com-
posed and approved as explicit, are,
in these days, become difficult of
comprehension, which induces me,
Moses the son of Maimon, to under-
take the present work.

(To fa resumed.)

V._CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

SuCCOth : " THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES."

THE harvest-home has, at all times
and amongst most nations, been con-
sidered as a season of hilarity and
feasting. The Israelites, in the pos-
i of their own land, blessed
with abundance, and favoured with
all the gifts of bountiful Providence
which a rich soil, a salubrious clime,
and a land overflowing with milk
and honey could produce, had cause,
beyond most other nations, to exult
in the permission to express their
gratitude towards the God of their
fathers, who had released them from
the house of bondage, protected them
during their wanderings in the wil-
derness, settled them in the land of
his promise, in cities which they had

not built, to enjoyliouses abundantly
furnished with every thing good,
which they did not fill, and vineyards
and olive trees which they did not
plant. However great these tempo-
ral mercies were, they were far ex-
ceeded by that spiritual blessing
which their God pronounced on
them when he vouchsafed to say,
" Ye shall be a peculiar treasure un-
to me above all people ; for all the
earth is mine. And ye shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests and a holy
people." (.Exod. xix. 5, 6.) To them
he entrusted his laws, them he ap-
pointed as the guardians of his com-
mandments, the depositaries of his
will, and of them he emphatically

46

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

declared, in the words of the prophet
Isaiah, "*Ye are my witnesses, saith
the Lord." (xliii. 10.)

The special purposes which in-
duced the Deity to select our fathers
from amongst the nations of the
earth, and to consecrate them to his
service, required that they should be
a holy people, sanctified in all their
paths, pious and godly at all times
and under all circumstances, and
not less penetrated with devotion
and obedience to the Deity on their
days of feasting and exultation, than
they were on their days of fasting
and humiliation, lorn hakippurim
closed, their peace made with their
God and their brethren, a season of
festivity commences : But it is in
accordance with the Divine com-
mand as laid down in His law, where
we find the origin and institution of
the feast of tabernacles thus ex-
pressed, in Lev. xxiii. 33 : " Speak
unto the children of Israel saying :
The fifteenth day of this seventh
month shall be the feast of taberna-
cles for seven days unto the Lord.
On the first day shall be an holy
convocation : Ye shall do no servile
work therein." Again, in the same
chapter, verse 39 : — " Also in the
fifteenth day of the seventh month,
when ye have gathered in the fruit of
the land, ye shall keep a feast unto
the Lord seven days. On the first
day shall be a Sabbath, and on the
eighth shall be a Sabbath. And ye
shall take unto yourselves on the
first day the fruit of the tree Hudar,
palm leaves, boughs of the tree
Aboth, and willows of the brook ;
and ye shall rejoice before the
Lord your God seven days. And
ye shall celebrate it as a feast
to the Lord seven days in the
year. An everlasting statute to all
your generations, in the seventh
month ye shall celebrate it. In
booths shall ye dwell seven days.
Every denizen in Israel shall dwell
in booths : In order that your gene-
rations may know that I caused the
children of Israel to dwell in booths,
when I brought them outof the land
of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."
It is repeated in Numbers xxix. 12 :
" And on the fifteenth day of the
seventh month ye shall have an holy
convocation. Ye shall do no servile

work, and ye shall celebrate a feast
to the Lord, seven days."

Here then we find two distinct
commandments given for the observ-
ance of the feast : First, the dwelling
in booths, and secondly, the using
(for the purpose of prayer and com-
memoration) four species of the ve-
getable kingdom. Tradition teaches
us, that, they are as follow : The
fruit of the tree Hadar * or Esrog,
" Citron ," the Capoth temarim, or
Loolif, "Palm leaves," ^boughs of
the tree aboth, " myrtles," and
brook-willows. We shall treat of
these two observances separately.

The first — dwelling in Succoth,
"booths" or "tabernacles," — gives
the name to the festival. Such a
Succah or " booth," must be erected
under the open sky. It must not
be completely roofed in or covered
in with any solid material, but must
be thatched in such a manner as to
admit the view of the sky and of the
stars. During the continuance of the
festival it is imperative to dwell in
the succah ; that is to say, all meals
must be taken there ; and where the
climate'permits, it is customary like-
wise to sleep there. In addition to
the reason assigned in holy writ,
and which we quoted above, Leviticus
xxiii. 33; — "That your generations
may know that I caused the children
of Israel to dwell in booths, when I
brought them out of the land of
Egypt:" and which, as some com-
mentators say, refers to the pillar of
the cloud," (Exodus xiii. 21,) that
guided and sheltered them : In
addition to this reason there are
many symbolic indications in this
and the other observances of the
feast. Amongst the many commen-
tators who have endeavoured to ex-
plain these observances, and each of
whom assigns to them a sublime and
truly pious meaning, we confine
ourselves to the Aktdatht Itzchack,
(folio 228-29,) where it is said,

" The general intention of the law
is to liberate man from the slavery
of his earthly passions, and to trans-
form it into obedience to the king-

* There are two different meanings as-
signed to tlio word Hadar, " goodly or
beautiful," aud our Rallies derive it from
li(t-di(r '" which r»' iVuit winters

on tin1 tnv.

NOTICE TO CORKESPOXDF. 47

dom of heaven. We find it said in mind, that he is but asojourner here,

Deuteronomy viii. 12 : " Lest when and that his real home is another and

thou hast eaten and art full, and a better world. Therefore he quits

hast built goodly houses and dwelt his constant and appointed residence

therein ; when thy herds and flocks to dwell in a booth. He abandons

multiply; when thy silver and the roof of his abode with all the

gold is multiplying ; and all thou riches, comforts, and incentives to

hast increases ; thy heart grow pi oud, worldly passions which it contains,

and thou for-jet the Lord thy God." and resigns himself to contempla-

To guard against this fearful conse- tion. His booth admits the view of the

quence of earthly prosperity, there sky and stars through its frail cover-

is a commandment, which directs ing, in order that he may be reminded

the Israelite, that, precisely at the of their Creator and his own. As the

time of the harvest, in the midst of Psalmist says, "The heavens proclaim

general abundance, he is to call to the glory of God." (Psalm xix.)

(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

WE have been favoured with several communications. To some of them
we have but one general reply : — That we are merely translators, therefore
not responsible for the opinions of our authors, and that we will not allow
ourselves to become involved in any controversy, either religious or political.
Some of these communications, however, require a particular reply, which
we will endeavour to give, as our time and space may permit.

''Ma. - presents his compliments to the Editor of the Hebrew Re-
view, and begs to call his attention to the great inaccuracy of the paragraph
in the first number of the Review, page 3, beginning with the words, ' And
yet in Britain,' and ending ' the spirit of the age.' It is there stated, that
wherever the English language prevails, the Jew dwells under laws which
extend protection equally to all without distinction of creed. This would
be correct if it were said of many of the dependencies of England, such as
the East Indies, Jamaica, Lower Canada, or Barbadoes, or of France, Hol-
land, Belgium, or the United States of America; for in all these different
countries and colonies the laws do make no distinction between Jews and
other persons. But the statement is certainly quite incorrect when applied
to England, where the law, so far from making no distinction of creed, ex-
cludes the Jew, on account of his creed, from every political privilege which
all other classes may possess.

" The whole passage, too, appears to Mr. - to convey the idea that
Jews ought to be grateful for mere shelter and personal freedom ; while he
has no doubt that the Editor must agree with him in thinking that there is
nothing in these things that can demand any extraordinary gratitude, and
that the Jews are just as well entitled as other people, not only to shelter
and freedom which they enjoy, but also to political privileges which they
possess in the various states to which Mr. - has referred, but of which
they are unjustly deprived in England.

" Mr. - forwards a number of the Companion to the Newspaper, con-
taining some information on the subject to which he has adverted."*

Our correspondent does not seem to have sufficiently considered the dif-
ference between political privileges and the protection of the laws. They

* Although this communication is marked private, we think it our duty to give publicity
to its contents, in order to set the question at rest with such of our brethren as may
share the opinion of the writer, \vhose name, however, we shall not presume to publish
without his permission.

48 NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

are, however, perfectly distinct, and may be enjoyed together or separately,
but do not necessarily result from each other. Thus he who denies the
immortality of the soul, and future rewards an i punishments, will not, through
the public profession of his creed, be excluded from the full enjoyment
of every political privilege, rank, power, and emolument ; although the laws,
by denying credence to his oath, make the protection extended to him
dependent on the testimony of others, and consequently distinguish his
creed by a penalty with which others are not visited.

Again : Dissenters from the Established Church, even till within the
last few years, were excluded from all political privileges, and nearly in the
same situation as the Jews are at present. Nevertheless, the protection
of the laws was, without any distinction, extended to them, as it is to us,
equally with the members of the Establishment ; and the great principle is
recognised, that ail men are equal in the eye of the law.

There have, however, been instances when the professors of a particular
creed have been subjected to exclusion from political privileges, and like-
wise suffered under laws so invidious as to render that creed penal. Such
was the case not many years ago in Ireland with respect to the Roman
Catholics ; such is the case at the present day with respect to Jews, in states
far more numerous than those to whose liberality our correspondent does
justice.

The emancipation of the Jews, though at all times just in theory, is
become so in practice only since the removal of those disabilities under
which all other Dissenters laboured. In this respect the history of fifteen
centuries is opposed to that of seven years. In England, some eighty
years ago, an enlightened Parliament granted what Jews now contend for ;
but the national opinion, or perhaps public clamour, compelled the repeal
of that just and wise measure. At present the nation thinks very dif-
ferently : The voice of its Representatives has declared the re-
moval of civil disabilities from the Jews to be an act of justice ; and though
that act of justice may be delayed, it cannot, in opposition to the will
of the nation and its Representatives, be much longer refused.

When we spoke of " the protection of the laws," we did so inde-
pendently of political privileges ; for there is no necessary connection
between them. When we speak of " gratitude towards the enlightened
people amongst whom we dwell," — we offer them what is truly their
due, not for shelter and personal freedom only afforded to the Jew, but for
the exercise of that liberal feeling which, by removing the disabilities of
all other Dissenters placed the Jew in a situation to claim the same
boon, and which, by the majority of its Representatives, decided his
claim to be just.

THE EDITOR.

We shall reply to D. N. in our next.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWEXTY-FIRST DAY OF TISHKI, 5595.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1834.

I. CABBALA.

Pithche Jafi : "THE GATES OF JAH."
(Continued from page 31.)

No. 4.

Lv order to understand the essence
of the various proper names and ad-
jectives applied to the Sephiroth, thou
must know that each Sephira is a
power equal to all things and their
mutations, and in accordance with
the variations of the attribute from
one degree to another, in such man-
ner as they receive the same from
any one of the superior Sephiroth for
the purpose of operating agreeably
to the will of Him who parted them
off, or to the effects which proceed
from that will, iu manner, time, and
place. Were we to examine the de-
gree of relation existing between the
Sephira MA.LCHUTH * and the Sephira
IESOD, f we find at least ten degrees
in Malchuth which receives, and the
like number in Jesod which bestows :
as lesod can bestow from its original
essence, or from what it receives of
Tiphereth, * or of any other of the
Sephiroth; and in the latter case
there may be more bestowed by
other Sephirotk than by lesod. Again :
Each of the emanations thus bestow-
ed may originate from some other
emanation ; as, for instance, if lesod
receives from Tiphereth and bestows
on Malchuth, Tiphereth may bestow,
either from its own original essence,
or from what it has received of
Gedulah § or (leburah, i; or some
other Sephira; and so on, in every
case. Thus these emanations become
multiplied in an infinite manner ;
and to each is attached it^ own pe-
culiar and secret power, effect, and
idiosyncracy, according to the decree
of Him that endowed them all. Cor-
responding with the variety of these
emanations is the number of adjec-
tives applied to them ; each one of

* Kingdom, t Foundation, t Beauty.
5 Greatness. || Might.

which is limited to the expression of
its own" particular qualities, so that
what is expressed by one is not ex-
pressed by any other, and each of
them is requisite to the whole. The
purpose of these adjectives is to ex-
tend the branches of the sephira to
which it appertains : As if we were
to assume, that the name of four let-
ters, (Jod, He, Vau, He,) which is in
each of the Sephiroth, is their essence,
and that each of the ten clothes itself
in one of the Divine Names, which
must not be erased, as the chief
branches which spread from the
stem of the tree, and from which
again lesser branches extend in the
guise of adjectives peculiar to each
particular name. If we assume this,
we find that these adjectives are so
many garments to the names which
must not be erased, which again are
garments to the Ten Sephiroth, which
in their turn clothe the name of four
letters ; the Great Essence com-
prising and pervading every thing.
Like the stem of the tree, the leaves
of which cover its branches, the
branches surround the top, and the
top crowns the whole. So that each
adjective, according to its degree, is
more internal than another. Thus
there is likewise in each of the com-
mandments different contents, and
different effects, each of which de-
notes one of the Sephiroth. Nor is
this either a repetition or superflu-
ous, as each refers to another degree
in the same Sephira; and the light
and efflux which emanate from one
is not like the light and efflux which
emanate from another ; but all is
in accordance with the purpose as-
signed by His wisdom and law:
blessed be He 1

The members of the human body

50

are a temple, and garments to the
spiritual and superior powers ; as all
these are united and tied together to
the exalted branches on high. Con-
sequently, man may, in his mind and
ideas, become susceptible of being a
Merkaba to the emanation of a Sephira.
He who preserves himself free from
all sin, and attaches himself to the
scrupulous observance of any one of
the commandments of the law, be-
comes a Merkaba of the particular
Sephira to which that commandment
appertains ; especially if his soul be
an efflux from that Sephira : and
even if his soul be from another
Sephira, it will nevertheless become
a Merkaba ; as all the Sephiroth are
related to each other, and every one
of them comprises every thing. This
becoming a Merkaba, in the case of
a man who devotes himself to the
scrupulous observance of any one
commandment, is by means of a
stream of light from the Sephira to
which this commandment appertains ;
and, through its shining on him, the
Schechina * becomes attracted, and
rests upon him. In order that he
may be able to receive the light,
which is poured forth from above,
the Schecldna^ enters the soul of this
righteous man, and makes it her
temple and resting-place, even till
the soul becomes a receptacle to the
emanation from that Sephira; for
all the superior and inferior worlds,
as even the angels, do not receive
the emanations of the Sephira, except
by means of the souls of the pious,
which are united above, through the
scrupulous observance of the com-
mandment, the Jaw, and prayers,
and are lifted up to that high state
of exaltation which they have gained,
by traversing the whole universe :
Namely, first, the olam hangasiah
"world of works," which comprises
every thing that is mentioned in the
history of creation down to the bot-
tomless pit, and includes the Cli-
poth, f and ten orbits, and the
elements, with every thing which
they compose. These parts of the
olam hangasiah ascend ten degrees.
Thence the soul wings her flight
through the olam haiezira, " the
world of formation," and olam ha-

* The presence of the Deity.
| Shells — certain spirits, so called.

briah, " the world of creation," unto
the olam haaziloth, " the distin-
guished world." In order to form
an idea of these different worlds,
thou must know that the Sephiroth
are parted off from the INFINITE :
blessed be HE ! — and they are called
aziloth, like weazalti min haruach,
" and I will part off from the Spirit."
(Num. xi. 17.) The manner in which
this is done is such that the power
of the bestower is in those who re-
ceive ; but the bestower does not
become less by having bestowed, or
after having done so, in like man-
ner as one flame is kindled by an-
other without the first decreasing.
The name aziloth is likewise derived
from the preposition etzel, " by," or
" near," to denote their perfect ad-
herence, to the Bestower, their First
Cause, in whom they are rooted. In
the aziloth is the power of the be-
stower and the receivers ; namely,
the essence which expands itself into
the different vessels or Sephiroth, and
gradually descends from the Cether
downwards, without ever separating
from it even for a single instant.
And these Sephiroth are ten, neither
more nor less. When the Rav Hai
Gaon, of blessed memory, states that
the thirteen attributes of mercy are
branches which extend from the ten
Sephiroth with three principal but
hidden heads, he does not mean that
there are thirteen Sephiroth, but that
there are three hidden powers, the
sources and causes of the attributes
which are expressed, which again are
as shadows to the superior ones, and
these are not more than ten, and
these are the sources of the Sephi-
roth.

If a man intends to produce any
thing, although in his imagination
he pictures to himself the thing
which he is about to form, it must
nevertheless be considered as non-
existing until the form present to
his mind is realized by the perfect
execution ; but such is not the case
with the thoughts of the Holy One :
blessed be HE ! As soon as he
thought proper to part off the azi-
loth, they immediately became sepa-
rated in his being, but without
causing any change in his essence ;
and thus was produced the existence
of these ten that are united to him.

(To be continued.)

51

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES. "
(Continued from page 39 J

DIVISION I. CHAPTER XIX.

FAITH is the perfect impression on
the soul of a something past or to
come, and which no other impression
has the power to gainsay or contra-
dict ; although the soul does not
know how this certainty has been
acquired, any more than it knows
how it has obtained its innate im-
pressions, * or those other ideas
which the mind has so thoroughly
appropriated to itself that it feels
their certainty as positively as if
demonstrated by the evidence of the
senses or by experience, however
ignorant of the cause of that ex-
perience. Faith is the certainty of
a something which is not demon-
strated to the believer by the evi-
dence of his own senses, but has
been demonstrated by such evidence
either to one man, whose veracity is
universally acknowledged and ap-
proved, or to several men, in a man-
ner public and notorious, at a time
already past ; and which has sub-
sequently been transmitted by the
one or the several, traditionally, from
father to son, in an uninterrupted
chain : By which means faith be-
comes justified before the tribunal of
his reason, in the same degree as if
it rested on the evidence of- his own
senses, although in itself it is not
within the conception of simple rea-
son. Such, for instance, is the be-
lief, which has been approved by
experience, that the Holy One (bless-
ed be HE \) has caused men to be-
come prophets ; not one man only,
but an entire nation, — men, women,
and ^children ; as it is said in the
law : " These words the Lord spoke
unto all your assembly on the mount,
out of the midst of the fire, the cloud,
and the thick darkness, with a great
voice." (Deut. v. 22.) And Moses
confirms this statement by his own
testimony '.vhen he says, " Did ever
people hear the voice of God speak-
ing out of the midst of the fire as
thou hast heajd, and live : " (Deut.
iv. 33.) Although this may appear
incomprehensible to simple reason,
* Vide chapter ItJ.

it is nevertheless proved to be true
and certain by the evidence of ex-
perience, confirmed by tradition from
father to son : It can therefore not
be denied or contradicted. It is cer-
tain and unquestionable, that no one
bears greater love to a man than his
own father ; consequently the tradi-
tion thus transmitted and preserved
to him by the love of his own father, —
whom it reached by the same means,
and so on in ascension unto those to
whom the truth of what they trans-
mitted was demonstrated by the evi-
dence of their own senses, — becomes
as firmly rooted in the mind as if
that evidence of the senses had been
afforded to himself ; for it is certain,
that no father, and much less all the
fathers, an entire generation of a
whole nation, would transmit to his
or their children the inheritance of
falsehood instead of truth. This
conviction is expressed by the Sacred
Singer in the forty-fourth Psalm,
verses 1-4, when he says, " With
our ears we have heard, O God ! our
fathers have related to us, the won-
drous works thou didst in their days,
in the days of old : that with thy
power thou didst drive out the na-
tions and plantedst them, that thou
didst afflict the people and cast them
out. For they conquered not the
land with their sword, their own arm
did not assist them : but thy right
hand, and thy arm, and the light of
thy countenance, because they found
favour before thee. Thou art he,
my King ! God ! Command de-
liverance unto Jacob." His mean-
ing is, We have heard from our
fathers what was proved to them by
the evidence of th-ir s?nses; not
only by prophecy, but likewise by
the supernatural effects of thy aid :
For it was thy power that overcame
the nations ; as their own force, ex-
erted in a natural way, was totally
insufficient to conquer the land.*

* This exposition will enable us to un-
derstand a difficult passage in Judges i. 19;
'' And the Lord was with Jehuda ; and he
conquered the inhabitants of the mountain ;
for the inhabitants of the plain were not to

H 2

52

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

" Thou art he, my King, O God 1
As thou hast once deigned to be-
stow thy special protection on us,
vouchsafe to continue us thy aid, and
command the deliverance of Jacob : "
an appeal to the experience of the
past. It is imperative that tradition,
in uninterrupted chain from father
to son, should be received, as
the Divine Laws are not transmitted
by any other means ; accordingly,
Moses, the servant of God, tells us,
"Ask of thy father, and he will re-
late to thee ; thy elders, and they
will tell thee." (Deut. xxxii. 7.) And
in order to afford sufficient protec-
tion to the purity and integrity of
this tradition, sentence of death is
pronounced on him who gainsays
the tradition of the fathers, or con-
troverts the decision of the elders ;
as it is said in the Law : " Accord-
ing to the judgment which they shall
tell thee, shall thou do. Thou shall
not deviate from the sentence which
they shall shew thee, either to the
right or to the left. And the man
thai will do presumptuously, and
will not hearken lo the priest that
standelh before the Lord thy God,
or unto the Judge, even that man
shall die." (Deut. xvii. 11, 12.)
Therefore likewise obedience to
teachers is enforced, and the punish-
ment of dealh is denounced against
the stubborn and rebellious child.
For it is as natural to believe in
the tradition of the fathers, as in the
evidence of our own senses, however
incomprehensible the facts may ap-
pear to our simple reason. Hence
faith is the firm and inward assur-
ance of the truth of certain things,
which at the time present is not
proved to us by the evidence of our

be conquered as they had chariots of iron."
The meaning of which is, The Lord was
with Jehuda; and by His supernatural aid
they overcame the inhabitants of the moun-
tain in their strong-holds and fastnesses j
although without that supernatural aid, and
limited to their own force, they could not
have accomplished the easier conquest of
the inhabitants of the plain, although these
had but their chariots of iron on which to
depend, and not the additional aid of natural
fastnesses, as had the inhabitants of the
mountain. The words in Judges are,
Ki lo lehorish, or, " There was no overcom-
ing," &c. : not, lie could not drive out, as
in the authorized ve»;ion. — THE EDITOR.

own senses or reason ; but which
rests on tradition, founded on and
derived from experience 'and the evi-
dence of the senses afforded in for-
mer days ; and is therefore deservedly
held as truth, Certainty, and convic-
tion.

CHAPTER xx.

THE more approved the veracity is
of the one man, (till it be so generally
acknowledged that no one contradicts
it,) or the more perfect the qualities,
or greater the numbers of the several
to whom such evidence of the senses
has been afforded, the more implicit
faith is due to their testimony from
those by whom that testimony is re-
ceived. Therefore the Holy One
(blessed be HE !) vouchsafed to give
the Law through Moses, with the
greatest possible degree of publicity,
before six hundred thousand men,
besides women and children, who
were present, and the numbers of the
mixed multitude who belonged not
to their congregation, but neverthe-
less partook of the same evidence.
The joint testimony of all these
would be sufficient to satisfy the
scruples of all the rest of mankind;
and accordingly in this sense our
Rabbies of blessed memory say,
" The giving of the Law at Sinai was
as public and notorious as if all the
world had been present." Thus,
then, no doubt dees or can remain
of the reality of the Divine demon-
stration on Sinai ; for that which is
asserted by one, or by a few individu-
als, does not become as completely
obligatory on their own contempora-
ries, much less on succeeding gene-
rations, as what is asserted by the
concurrent testimony of an entire
nation, as the result of the most per-
fect evidence and conviclion. For
as we said before ; (chapter xviii.) not
all the miracles performed by Moses
previous to the giving of the Law
would of themselves have been suf-
ficient to prove that the Divine laws
were really given through him, until
ihe Israelites with their own ears
heard the Deity say unto Moses,
"Go say unto them, Get you into
your tents again ; but as for thee,
stand thou here by me, and I will
speak unto thee all the command-
ments, and the statutes, and the

METAPHYSICS A.ND PHILOSOPHY OF THE KABBIE8.

53

judgments which tbou shall teach
them." (Deuteronomy v. 30, 31.)
This is the cause why the whole of
the Law was not given to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, to be by them
transmitted to their descendants ;
for that which is derived from indi-
viduals only is liable in the course of
time to become exposed to doubts,
and eventually to be lost ; and the
Law was consequently given with
such perfect publicity as to command
the testimony of a whole nation, in
a manner that can leave no room for
the least doubt on the minds of their
descendants ; for it is impossible to
suppose that this whole nation should
labour under the same erroneous
impression, not to say mental aberra-
tion ; or should purposely combine
to pass offon their children, as facts,
— and with the most minute detail of
circumstances, — fables which had no
existence except in their deluded or
deluding imaginations. This great
and unquestioned publicity is not
only a sufficient cause for the faith
of Israelites, to whom the Divine
revelation of these Laws is an inhe-
ritance, but entitles this law to the
belief likewise of all the nations on
earth : who, on the strength of the
testimony given by an' entire people,
are in reason bound to believe in
the revelation of the Divine laws to
the Israelites. Therefore the pro-
phet says, "Ye are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, and my servant whom
I have chosen ; that ye may know
and believe me ; and understand that
I am He. Before me there was no
God formed, neither shall there he
after me : I, even I, am the Lord ;
and beside me there is no Saviour.
I have declared, and have saved,
and I have shewed when no strange
God was amongst you ; therefora ye
are my witnesses, saith the Lord,
that I am God." (Isaiah xliii. 10-12.)
The meaning of which is : This nation
produces six hundred thousand cre-
dible witnesses, whose evidence is
conclusive as to what they have seen,
heard, and experienced by the de-
monstration of their senses, when
they heard the voice of the Lord
commnnd the observance of the De-
calogue ; ami on the strength of this
conclusive evidence it must be be-
lieved, without doubt or hesitation

of any kind, that this Law of Moses
is really and truly revealed by the
Deity.

CHAPTER XXI.

FAITH in the Holy One (blessed
be HE !) and in his holy law promotes
man to eternal felicity, and occasions
the cleaving of the soul to the Deity.
This is a truth confirmed by experi-
ence, as the foundation and ground-
work of tradition ; for it has never
yet happened that any sage, searcher
of nature, or philosopher should by
his own unaided efforts have attained
the eminent qualification of prophe-
cy, which is the conjunction of the
Divine Spirit with human reason, as
was done by the worthies of the law,
whose reason was so strongly at-
tached to the Deity, that by means
of this attachment they obtained the
power of altering the course of na-
ture, and of producing supernatural
effects ; as we find was the case with
the prophets whose dicta gave la\v
to nature, being all confirmed and
carried into effect by the Divine
power. Thus Elijah called down
fire from heaven, contrary to the
ordinary course of nature ; and there-
fore he said, " If I be a man of God,
let fire come down from heaven,"
&c., (2 Kings i. 10,) and it was done
accordingly. In like manner he
divided the Jordan, (2 Kings ii. 8,)
as did also Elisha, (2 Kings ii. 14,)
who cured Xaaman's leprosy, (2
Kings v. 1-15,) resuscitated the
dead, not only during his life-time,
(2 Kings iv l^,~) but likewise after
his own death; (2 Kings xiii. 21 ;)
and many other similar instances of
miraculous power exercised by them
and by other prophets. We likewise
find other pious and godly men, who,
without being prophets, obtained, by
means of fervent prayer, either a
power over nature, or that the ordi-
nary course of nature was altered on
their account. Such were Hananiah,
jNIishael, and Azariah, wl.o were
thrown into the burning fiery fur-
nace, and were not hurt ; (Daniel iii.
21-2J";) and also R. Chanina ben
Dose, abd R. Phineas ben Joel, who
effected things contrary to the ordi-
nary course of nature : All of which
proves that the perfect believer in
God and in his law is superior to na-

54

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

ture, which is subjected to him. And
this is the true touchstone of the
laws revealed by God, — that he is
the Protector, Saviour, and Shield
of those who believe in him, and who
observe his covenant and command-
ments with perfect devotion ; as it
is said, " The command of God is
pure ;" (Psalm xix. 8 ;) and " a shield
to all that rely thereon." And again ;
" He grants the desire of those that
fear him ; he hears their cries and
saves them." (Psalm cxlv. 19.) "He
confirms the word of his servant,
and maketh vain the counsel of
Kings." (Isaiah xliv. 26.) This
cleaving of the pious to the Deity is
a proof of the soul's communion with
the Godhead in a future state, as
even in this life so very eminent a
degree may be attained. In this
sense Moses said, " And ye that
cleave unto the Lord your God are
all alive this day." (Deut. iv. 4.)
The meaning is, " Should any philo-
sopher amongst the nations believe
in this cleaving of the soul to the
Deity, his faith would be but indivi-
dual and dependent on the conclu-
sions of his reason ; whereas you
Israelites are convinced of the truth
of this belief, not as individuals, but
as an entire nation ; and this day,
whilst yet you are alive, your expe-
rience furnishes you with proofs of
the reality of the soul's attachment
unto God." — The proof of which is,
that God hears the prayers of those
who are thus attached to him, and
aids them even by supernatural
means ; as Moses further observes :
" For what nation is there so great
that their Gods should be nigh unto
them as the Lord our God is to ua
in all that we implore of him?"
(Deut. v. 8.) All this conjointly
proves that the belief in God and in
his law bestows a degree of perfec-
tion on the soul, and attaches it so
completely to the Deity, that nature
becomes its subordinate ; as this at-
tachment of the soul to the Godhead
renders it superior to, and gives it a
command over, nature. Hence Abra-
ham was praised in his faith, as is
said, " And he believed in the Lord,
who accounted it to him for righ-
teousness." (Genesis xv. 6.) There-
fore Moses and Aaron were punished
for their want of faith, as is said,

" Because ye believed me not to
sanctify me in the eyes of the chil-
dren of Israel, therefore ye shall not
bring this congregation unto the
land which I have given them."
(Numbers xx. 12.) Therefore it is
said, " Believe in the prophets, and
ye shall be happy," which proves
that faith maketh happy here and
hereafter. Again : " The righteous
shall live in his faith;" (Habak. ii.
4 ;) by which expression it is not
temporal life that is indicated, as, ac-
cording to the ordinary course of
nature, the pious does not live longer
than the sinner; but it is eternallife,
the true life of the soul, which the
righteous alone is certain to attain ;
as is said : " Who saves the righteous
on his death-bed," or, to express it
in other words, Who but God gives
him the assurance of attaining this
real good ? But the wicked has not
any such hope whilst alive, nor has
he a right to expect it in a future
state. Accordingly our Rabbies of
blessed memory say, " The righteous
are called alive even after they are
dead ; whilst the wicked are called
dead even during their life-time." This
attachment of the soul to the Deity,
and the consequent power to com-
mand nature,' are bestowed only on the
perfect believer, and not on the sage
or philosopher, in order to prove that
faith is superior to nature, and to all
the power and wisdom of nature : and
that, by means of faith only, is at-
tained the life and continuation of
the soul, which in itself is likewise
superior to nature.

CHAPTER XXII.

IN order to lead to felicity faith
must be well founded, as the belief in
impossibilities is not adapted to pro-
mote happiness ; which can only be
attained by faith in what is true, but
not by a credulity that assigns ex-
istence to what is not, or the reverse.
It therefore behoves man to ask,
" What is actually true, in order that
faith may rest and anchor thereon ?
And what is actually not true, in
order that faith may avoid the allure-
ments of error ? " Were we to assume,
that this question could be solved by
the researches of reason only, then
our casual understanding would be
superior to faith, which is contrary

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

55

to what we have in former chapters
explained to be its essence and qua-
lity. Tliis is a difficult problem, of
which, however, it is our duty to
attempt the solution. We therefore
say, that impossibilities are of two
different kinds : First, absolute im-
possibilities, which do not admit the
slightest doubt or question ; as, for
instance, that a part should be as
large as the whole, that the diagonal
line should be less than any one side
of the square, that negative and af-
firmative should at once be true of
the same subject in the same sense ;
and many more the like, which are
utter or absolute impossibilities.
Thus it is beyond the reach of faith,
to believe in a doctrine which teaches
that it is possible for the Deity to
create another being in every respect
similar to and equal with Himself;
as necessarily the Deity must be the
producer, and this other being the
product. Consequently there cannot
in every respect be perfect equality
between them. The second kind of
impossibilities are such as are be-
yond the power of nature, but not be-
yond the power of nature's Creator ;
as the resurrection of ;he dead, or
that a man should continue forty
days and forty nights, without at all
eating or drinking ; and many more the
like, the belief of which, however, is
within the reach of faith, as we can
represent to our minds the possibility
of such an event. We therefore pro-
ceed to say respecting this latter kind,
that as soon as reason permits us to
represent such apparent impossibili-
ties to our minds as possible, — how-
ever contrary to nature, — the belief
that such events either have occurred,
or do at present, or may hereafter
occur, can be justified ; particularly if
supported by the evidence of ex-
perience ; although reason, incapable
of conceiving the cause, may consider it
as strange and beyond its power to de-
monstrate : Like the attraction of iron
by the magnet, which is not accounted
for by reason, but by the experience of
the fact. Accordingly the revival of
the dead by Elisha, both during his
life-time and after his own death, or
that mortal man should continue
forty days and forty nights without
at all eating or drinking, or that fire
should be called down from heaven ;

such and the like events are within
the reach of possibility to Omnipo-
tence, and can therefore be believed.
Whereas the first kind — as utterly
and absolutely impossible, and alto-
gether beyond the scope of any effort
of the mind to represent the same as
possible — cannot be believed in.

CHAPTER XXIII.

COMPRISED in the three essential
principles which we have laid down
and demonstrated in chapters x & xi.,
there are six fundamental articles of
faith, which must be received and be-
lieved in by all professors of the Divine
law of .Moses. They are as follow : —

1. The creation of the unicerse out of
nothing. — This we have already de-
monstrated in chapter xii. ; and it is
perfectly self-evident, that this ar-
ticle of faith is embodied not only in
the Divine laws generally, but more
especially in the law of Moses, al-
though it is not an essential principle
to either ; as we can conceive the
existence of the divine laws generally,
and of the law of Moses in particular,
without necessarily combining with
either the axiom that the world was
created absolutely out of nothing, —
as we have fully demonstrated in our
twelfth chapter of this first division.
Nevertheless this article of faith is a
branch of the first essential principle,
" the existence of the Deity ;'' as He
(blessed be HE !) is free from all im-
perfection, and were his power li-
mited to the production of something
out of something, — instead of Omni-
potence producing every thing out of
nothing, — it would in him be a want
of perfection, which God forbid we
should impute to Him ! For it is not
correct to assert, that it is beyond the
scope of all efforts of the mind to re-
present the possibility of a something
being created out of nothing, as this
supposition is perfectly within the
reach of reason, and can therefore
with propriety be believed.

Even those who maintain matter
to be increate, and the universe pro-
duced, admit the Deity to be the
producer of all productions, and that
matter is a production from him by
means of the distinct or separate
reason, which likewise proceeds from
Him. But how can this be possible ?
Or rather, If the creation of some-

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

thing out of nothing be denied as im-
possible, is not the existence of
matter, as the production of this
separate or distinct reason, as com-
pletely the creation of something out
of nothing, as any other system or
hypothesis possibly can lay down ?
Others again maintain, that the crea-
tion of the universe out of nothing is
impossible, because that event must
have taken place since the com-
mencement of time ; whereas before
the existence of matter, time was not
— and therefore the universe is in-
create. To them \ve reply, that their
objection can only arise if we assume
creation to be a necessary and unin-
tentional act of the Creator. But as
He created in conformity to his own
free will and intention, this objection
vanishes before the omnipotence of
his will.

2. That tlte degree of prophetic
eminence bestowed on Moses was
greater than that imparted to any other
prophet, that was or ever will be. — And
though this article of faith is not es-
sential to the belief in the Divine
laws generally, or the law of Moses
in particular, nevertheless as the law
expressly declares, " And there arose
not since in Israel a prophet like
unto Moses, whom the Lord knew
face to face ;" (Deut. xxxiv. 10 ;) it
has a reference to the past and the
future, in order to express and point
out the excellence of the law given
through him ; of which, God willing,
we shall treat more at large in the third
division. It is, therefore, incumbent
on every professor of the law of
Moses, to believe it as a branch of the
second essential principle, Revelation.

3. That this law will never be altered
by means of any prophet or messenger
whatsoever. — Though this article of
faith is not essential to the belief in
Divine laws generally, or the law of
Moses in particular, (as we have
already demonstrated,) nevertheless
as it is a branch arising from the
second essential principle, "Revela-
tion," and the trust-worthiness of the
messenger, it is incumbent on every
professor of the law of Moses to
believe in this article of faith, re-
specting which we shall, God willing,
enter into further details in the fifth
chapter of our third division.

4 . That the proper observance of any

one of the commandments of the law
will lead man to perfection. — If this
were not so, the law of Moses would
operate as a cause to deprive men of
that perfection, which our Rabbies
of blessed memory call "eternal life
of the world to come." The purpose
of all the commandments of the law
of Moses is to enable all mankind to
attain that perfection ; and as the
observance of all the commarfdments
is obligatory only on the Israelite, it
would thence result, that, if the ab-
solute condition of eternal life be the
observance of all these command-
ments, the rest of mankind would
become excluded, and the law of
Moses would be the cause of their
exclusion. But this would be an effect
contrary to the intention of that re-
velation : the truth, therefore, is, that
the perfect and strict observance of
any one of the commandments, — for
God's sake and with a perfect con-
viction of their divine origin, — will
lead man to eternal life. Conse-
quently, the Noachidje (the whole
human^race) can by means of their
law * attain eternal life : And ac-
cordingly our Rabbies of blessed
memory said, " The righteous among
the nations of the world, have a
share in the life to come."-|-

* The law of the Noachidse prohibits idol-
atry, fornication, bloodshed, robbery, blas-
phemy, and eating the flesh offa living animal ;
and commands the propagation of the species.

t From what our author here states, the
reader can form a clear idea why the Jews
never attempted to make proselytes. They
have generally been taxed with extreme
pride and egotism, in not] hinting others to
become partakers of the high excellence
which they ascribe to their religious system.
This accusation, however, is as untrue |as
another which imputes to them great intole-
rance, and the belief that none but an
Israelite can inherit salvation. The con-
trary, however, is the fact. They admit,
that, without being or becoming an Israel-
ite, man may attain salvation ; and they
are therefore not in duty bound to make
proselytes in order to save souls. Accord-
ing to their system, the Gentile, in order to
be saved, is held to observe the seven com-
mandments of the Noachidae, and to the
belief that the law of Moses was given by
Divine revelation : And this last the Jew
cannot preach more forcibly than by his
tenacious adherence to ita precepts, and his
readiness to forego life itself, rather than his
law j of which he has given proofs so

COMMENTARIES OX HOI.Y WRIT.

57

But they add, "The Holy One
(blessed he HE !) deigned to bestow a
particular boon on Israel by increas-
ing to them the laws and command-
ments.'' This article of faith, then,
as an essential and radical principle
of the law of Moses, it is incumbent
on every professor of that law to
believe in, as we shall more fully de-
tail in the twenty-ninth chapter of our
third division.

5. The resurrection of the dead. —
Some of our Rabbies maintained that
the resurrection was limited to the
perfectly just ; and as it would thus
only express a partial reward, he that
denies credence to this article of
faith, is like him who refuses to be-
lieve all or any of the great wonders
performed by any of the perfectly
just, and which are within the reach
of faith.

But as others, on the contrary,
maintain that the resurrection of the
dead will be general, he who rejects
this article of faith, denies a branch
of the third essential principle, " re-
wards and punishments." And al-
though not essential to the Divine
laws in general, or the laws of Moses
in particular, — as it is quite possible to
believe in rewards and punishments
both corporeal and spiritual without
granting the resurrection of the dead,
and as he who denies this article cannot
be considered as rejecting the whole
of the law of Moses; — nevertheless, as
it is an article of faith received by the
whole nation, whosoever professes to
believe in the law of Moses is bound
to receive it ; as we shall, God will-
ing, more fully explain in our fourth
division.

6. The coming of the Messiah. — This
is a branch of the third essential
principle, " rewards and punishment,"
and received as an article of faith by
the whole nation. It is therefore in-

cumbent on every Israelite to receive
it ; as we shall prove more fully in
our fourth division. It is, however,
no essential or radical principle either
of the Divine laws in general, or the
law of Moses in particular ; which it
is quite possible to believe without
admitting this article of faith.

We have not comprised amongst
these articles of faith the belief in
any particular commandment, as that
of penitence and prayer, that the Holy
One (blessed be HE !) hears the
prayers that are devoutly addressed
to him, and receives the sincere peni-
tence of the sinner ; and more of the
like kind. This we have not done,
as it would he improper to consider
any one commandment more essen-
tial than the others We have like-
wise not comprised amongst these
articles of faith that the glory of the
Most High dwelt visibly among the
Israelites, the descent of fire from
heaven to consume the sacrifice on
the altar of burnt-offerings, or that
the Priest was answered by the
Urim and Thummim, and more of
the like kind ; for these are compri-
sed in the belief of the wonders and
miracles which are related in the law.
Nor is it proper to enumerate one of
these more than others ; such as that
the waters of the RED SEA were di-
vided, the descent of the manna, the
opening of the earth on Korach, and
its closing again immediately ; which
last is the proof that it was not the
result of an earthquake ; and more
of a similar description. But we
have enumerated these six articles of
faith, because they are received by
the whole nation ; and the observance
of the whole law at all times rests on
them, although not essential princi-
ples. He who denies them is called
min, " heretic," and has no share in
the life to come.

(To be continued.}

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

(Continued from page 6.)
" I.v the beginning God created the surface of the deep."

eth hashamaim, ' the heavens and the
earth : ' And the earth was without
form and void, and darkness was on

numerous and so striking that the most
eloquent efforts of the most highly gifted

Eth hash'

amaim, ''the heavens." — Three dif-
ferent opinions are advanced by
distinguished commentators respect-
preacher, would fail to do them justice. —
EDITOR.

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

ing the true meaning of the word
shamaim : 1. Aben Ezra* main-
tains it to mean the atmosphere.
2. Maimonides maintains it to be the
moving solar systems and planetary
orbits. 3. Nachmanides, f and with
him all the Cabbalists, maintain it to
be the superior heavens which are
above the spiritual beings called
Merkabu, who again are above the
solar systems and planetary orbits.

The first of these opinions cannot
at all be entertained because if the
word shamaim denote merely the at-
mosphere, we should not in the his-
tory of the creation find any mention
whatever of the. different solar sys-
tems, or of spiritual beings or their
origin. This opinion must, there-
fore, be at once rejected ; and we
next proceed to examine the remain-
ing two. According to the third,
The Holy One (blessed be HE !) is
called^the rocheb shamaim, " the rider
of the heavens." (Deut. xxxiii. 26.)
These, as one of our Rabbies re-
marks, " are called malchuth shamaim,
' the kingdom of the heavens,' in the
plural number, because they com-
prise separate intelligences of various
degrees and different exaltations, who
surround the throne of glory ; and
Holy Writ comprises them all under
the denomination shamaim, to imply

* Aben Ezra, or by his full name, R.
Abraham bar R. Meir ben Esra, was born
at Toledo, in. the commencement of the
twelfth century. He was a great Divine,
and a good and profound commentator on
Holy Writ. He was likewise famed as a
physician, poet, and grammarian. As an
astronomer he acquired great celebrity by
dividing the equinoctial line into twelve
equal parts. His thirst after experimental
knowledge induced him to spend the greater
part of his life in travelling : and, after
having visited England, France, Italy, and
Greece, he died on the Island of Rhodes,
in the seventy-fifth year of his age. His
writings, which are numerous, are held in
liigh estimation, and particularly admired
for the precision of their style.

t Nachmanides, or R. Moses bar Nach-
man, called, from the initials of his name,
Ramban, was born at Gerona, in Spain, in
the year 1194, and died in Palestine at the
advanced age of one hundred and six years.
He is celebrated as a Commentator, Cab-
balist, and Preacher, and likewise for the
public disputation held by him against a
learned Spanish Friar in the presence of
Alphonso, King of Castille.

that they too were created out of no-
thing. It appears to us proper, that
the second and third opinion should
be formed into one ; and that con-
sequently the word shamaim means
both the physical and spiritual hea-
vens. As these separate intelligences
are employed to give motion to the
different systems, J which is likewise
the opinion of Aristotle — that they
are the animate form of the inan-
imate matter, and their operation is
collective, — they are called by a col-
lective name shamaim.

•This will explain to us the mean-
ing of the medrash rabba in Genesis
i. 1, on shamaim, " Rab said, shamaim-
esh umaim, ' fire and water.' "
Rav Abba, son of Rav Kanna, saith,
" The Holy One took fire and water
and kneaded them together; from
which mixture the heavens origi-
nated."

It would be wrong to suppose that
the Rabbies considered beings who
are not subject to dissolution as
composed of any material substances.
t All the ancient philosophers, Jewish or
gentile, were at a loss to explain the cause
by which the heavenly bodies were kept in
motion. Not that the Jewish Sages ever
doubted the divine power, or questioned its
ability to produce and continue such move-
ment: But, as in Genesis ii. 1, it is said
that creation was completely finished, or in
such a state and shape as to continue there-
in until the end of time, and not to require
any further exercise of the creative power
except for its preservation, it remained in-
explicable to these Sages how the heavenly
bodies, which are inanimate, could observe
and continue a fixed and regulated move-
ment, according to a rational purpose and
intention. They therefore came to the
singular opinion, either that these heavenly
bodies are animate and separate intelli-
gences ; or that they are kept in move-
ment by such separate intelligences. It is,
however, a remarkable fact, that, although
not so clearly and distinctly expressed as
in the celebrated system of the immortal
Sir Isaac Newton, nevertheless the principal
idea of that system, namely, that these
movements of the heavenly bodies result
from the laws of gravitation and impulsion,
is to be found in the Rabbinical writers,
particularly in the Ahedath Itzchack, by R.
Isaac ben Moses, (Arama,) who in the
year 1491 was exiled from Spain, and who
refers for a more detailed explanation of the
same idea to the Book Shangar Shamaimt
of R. Isaac ben Lateph, a native of Spain,
in the thirteenth century. — EDIT.

MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

Rab meant to express, that all the
solar and planetary systems, together
with the separate intelligences, are
all comprised under the word sham-
aim : — Thus uniting the opinions of
Maimonides and of Nachmanides.
The second, Rav Ahha, tells you
why they have that collective name,
namely, in consequence of the con-
nexion between the impelling prin-
ciple, and what is impelled by it ;
accordingly the word esk, " fire,"
means the spiritual intelligences, and
maim, " water," is used to express
the material systems and orbits.
Fire is the name given to the spirit-
ual intelligences, as no other can be
found which so properly expresses

what is spiritual, although in itself
not so. The qualities of imparting
warmth to others without receiving
from any other body, and of con-
suming without being consumed,
render it an animating principle to
every living being. Accordingly, the
sacred Scriptures tell us, " The Lord
thy God is a consuming fire." (Deut.
iv." 24.) " The angel of the Lord ap-
peared to him in the flame of fire."
(Exod. iii. 2.) " One of the seraphim
flew to me and in his hand he had a
fiery coal." (Isaiah vi. 6.)

Our Rabbies say human souls were
created at the same time as the an-
gels, and are with them comprised
in the name of shamaim.

(To be continued.')

IV.— MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

Hiichotk deoth : — ETHIC PRECEPTS.
(Continued from page 45J

DIVISION VI.

>ECT. 1. — The natural disposition
of the human mind occasions man to
be influenced in his opinions and ac-
tions by those with whom he asso-
ciates, andhis conduct to be dependent
on that of his friends and countrymen.
Therefore his duty is at all times to as-
sociate with the just, and to dwell with
the pious, in order that he may profit
by their example ; and to avoid the
society of evil-doers, who walk in the
dark, in order that he may not imbibe
their sinful practices. Therefore
Solomon saith, " He that frequents
the wise will become so himself, but
the associates of knaves break down."
(Prov. xiii. 20.) Thus likewise begins
the first Psalm, " Blessed is the man
who walketh not in the counsels of
the wicked, who standeth not in the
way of sinners, and who sitteth not in
the seat of scorners."

If a man dwells in a land where
evil customs prevail, and the inha-
bitants are impious, let him quit it
and seek another, the inhabitants of
which are just and their customs
pious. And if the inhabitants of
every country he knows are evil-dis-
posed,— as is the case in our days,
(the twelfth century,) — or he is pre-
vented reaching the land, the inhabit-
ants of which are just, either through
sickness or war, let him withdraw
from worldly associations : as is said,

" Let him sit alone and keep silent."
(Lamentations iii. 28.) Should people
in his native home be so corrupt,
that they do not permit him to live
retired, but force him to join in their
evil practices, then let him seek
refuge in a cavern, or in a wilderness,
far away from all human society,
rather than suffer himself to become
corrupted by their sinful example ; as
the prophet says, " O that some one
would grant me in the wilder-
ness the dwelling of a wanderer, and
I would quit my people and abandon
them." (Jer. ix. 2.)

SECT. 2. — We are commanded to
associate with the wise and pious, in
order to learn their ways ; and as it
is said in the law, "Ye shall attach
yourselves to Him," you shall attach
yourselves to every thing that leads
to Him, to sanctity and perfection
It is therefore, proper to strive to
marry the daughter of the pious man,
or to give a daughter in marriage
only to such a one ; to eat, drink,
converse, and commune with the
pious. And according our Rabbies
emphatically say, "Cover thyself with
the dust of their feet, and imbibe
their words with the thirst of eager
attention."

SECT. 3. — It is a command to love
every Israelite like thyself. His wel-
fare, his reputation, and his property
must be dear to thee like thine own.
2

60

MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

He that rises on the downfal of his
neighbour has no share in the life to
come.

SECT. 4. — Love of the stranger who
shelters beneath the protecting wing
of the Deity is impressed by two
commands : The one is, to love our
neighbour ; the second, to love the
stranger. The command of the law,
" Ye shall love the stranger," (Deut
x. 19,) is couched in the same words
as that which directs love to the
Deity : " Ye shall love the Lord your
God," (Deut. vi. 5.) He Himself
loveth the stranger; as it is said,
" He loveth the strangers, to give
them food." (Deut. x. 16 )

SECT. 5. — He that hates his neigh-
bour in his heart, breaks the negative
command of the law, "Thou shalt
not hate thy brother in thy heart."
(Leviticus xix. 17.)

SECT. 6. — He that is offended or
transgressed against by his neigh-
bour, is not to hate him inwardly
and keep silence. For Holy Writ
saith of the sinner, " And Absalom
spake unto his brother Amnon neither
good nor bad ; for Absalom hated
Amnon." (2. Sam xiii. 22) But it
is his duty to say to his offending
neighbour, " Why hast thou ag-
grieved me ?" for it is written, "Thou
shalt reprove and exhort thy neigh-
bour." (Leviticus xix. 17.) If the
offender implores his pardon, he is
bound to forgive him, and not to be
inexorable ; as it is said, " So Abra-
ham prayed unto God " for Abime-
lech. (Gen. xx. 17.)

SECT. 4. — If'any one sees his neigh-
bour commit a sin, or do what is
wrong:, it becomes his duty to reprove
the offender, and to represent to him
that he injures himself by doing evil ;
as it is written, " Thou shalt reprove
and exhort." He that reproves his
neighbour for sins committed either
against God or man, must do it when
no one is present, and without as-
perity, and shall explain to him
that what he says it is his duty to
say, and that his purpose is to pro-
mote the welfare of the offender,
both here and hereafter, by pointing
out to him the pernicious conse-
quences of evil deeds. From such
exhortations he is not to desist, al-
though the offender attends not to
him ; but must continue to remon-

strate, reprove, and exhort, until
violence is used against him. He
that can prevent the commission of
a misdeed, and does it not, is respon-
sible for his remissness.

SECT. 8 — He that exhorts is not
to bring the offender to public shame
and disgrace ; for it is said, " Thou
sbalt not load him with his sin."
(Levit. xix. 20.) This command,
not to disgrace the sinner, is to be
observed even when exhorting him
in private, and, of course, in the pre-
sence of others. It is a great sin to
bring disgrace on any man, and
must, as such, be carefully avoided.
As one of ourf Rabbies said, " He
that publicly causes his neighbour to
turn pale has no share in the life to
come." He is not to use any appel-
lation of which the other is ashamed.
All this, however, is confined to
offences between man and man ; but
when an offence is committed against
the Deity, if the sinner perseveres in
his evil course, it becomes a duty to
denounce him publicly, in order that
others may'avoidhim and his malprac-
tices; as the prophets did, who pub-
licly proclaimed and denounced sin,
SECT. 9. — He that is offended, and
will not exhort the offender, but con-
siders him below his attention, either
from extreme ignorance or any such
cause, and who consequently does
not harbour any feeling of rancour
or resentment against the offender ;
his silent forbearance is pious and
praiseworthy ; as the command to
reprove and exhort is enforced, in
order to prevent resentment and ran-
cour from festering in the mind.

SECT. 10. — Be very careful in the
treatment of widows and orphans,
not merely if they be poor, but be-
cause their spirits are broken, though
they be ever so rich. Even the wi-
dow of a King, and his orphan chil-
dren, demand that carefulness. For
it is said, "All widows and orphans
shall ye not oppress. "^(Lev. xxii. 22.)
Let the manner of addressing them
be kind. Do not burthen them with
labour, or oppress their spirits by
harsh words. Let their property be
more precious to thee than thine
own ; for he that offends or oppress-
es them, and injures their property,
is an evil doer ; and his punishment
is expressed in the law : " And my

MORALITY OK THE TALMUD.

61

anger shall break out against you,
and I will cause you to perish by the
sword, so that your wives shall be
widows and your children orphans."
(Exodus xxii. 24.) The Holy One
(blessed be HE !) has vouchsafed to
grant them a particular covenant,
that when they invoke him against
their oppressors they shall be heard ;
as is said, "When they call up to
me, I will hear them ; for I am mer-
ciful." (Exodus xxii. 23.) This
prohibition to offend them is, how-
ever, only in cases where it may
cause them injury ; but when it is for
their good, as, for instance, the
teacher to instruct them in the law,
or in his trade, — it is a duty to re-
prove them. Nevertheless a dis-
tinction ought to be made in their
favour, and they should be treated
with greater forbearance than other
pupils, so as to instruct them mildly,
with great patience and attention ;
for it is said, " The Lord will defend
their cause," &c- (Psalm cxl. 12.)
Whether the child have lost father
or mother, it is alike called an or-
phan, until it attains the age to pro-
tect itself.

DIVISION VII.

SECT. 1. — He that slanders his
neighbour, breaks a negative com-
mandment ; as is written in the law,
" Thou shalt not go about as a tale-
bearer, amongst thy people." (Levit.
xix. 16.) He that becomes guilty of
this sin may cause the destruction of
life. Learn this from the fatal exam-
ple of Doeg the Edomite, (1 Sam.
xxii. 9,) and therefore the law joins
to the above prohibition, " Neither
shalt thou stand against the blood
of thy neighbour; " because calumny
will lead to bloodshed.

SBCT. 2. What is called talebear-
ing ? He that fetches and carries,
goes about from one to another, and
says, " I heard so and so from such
an one. Such an one has done such
a thing." And even should what he
asserts be true, it is still mischievous
and pernicious, as this prohibition
comprises the fearful sin of speaking
evil of any one, though it be truth.
For if he tell lies, it is called " ca-
liumiiating." And of the foul-
tongued man, — who says, " That
man is of such a character -} his pa-

rents were such ones ; this is what I
have heard concerning him," and
other the like slander, — it is said,
" The Lord will utterly destroy all
deceitful lips, and the tongues that
speak scornfully against their neigh-
bour." (Psalm xii. 3.)

SECT. 3. — There are three sins for
which man is punished in this life,
and has no share in the life to come ;
namely, idolatry, fornication, and
bloodshed : But calumny is equal to
all three, and he that utters slander
is like an apostatizing Atheist ; and
this crime generally causes injury to
three, — to him that slanders, to him
that is slandered, and to him that
listens to the slander.

SECT. 4. — Refined calumny (scan-
dal) is not less a sin ; namely, he
that does not directly slander, but
does so by innuendo : As, were he
to say, " Do not speak of such a
one ; " or praising one to the dispa-
ragement of another ; or a sort of
half praise, by which he robs him of
his free share of commendation. All
these are meant by Solomon, when
he says, " He that praises his neigh-
bour with a loud voice, is considered
as if he slandered him." In like
manner if a man exercise his wit at
the cost of another, even though it
be done without any feeling of ill
will, Solomon says, " Like a witling
is the archer, whose arrows bring
death." (Prov. xxvi. 18.)

SECT. 5. — He that speaks of his
neighbour any thing to the injury of
his honour or his property, or to
hurt or to frighten him, be it in his
presence or behind his back, even if
it be imparted as a secret, it is always
considered as calumniating ; and
although what is communicated to
three is no lunger to be considered a
secret, nevertheless he that repeats,
in order to give greater publicity to
the slander, is a calumniator.

SECT. 6. — It is prohibited to live
in the neighbourhood of tale-bearers
and slanderers ; much less to hold any
intercourse with them. The decree
of punishment against our fathers in
the wilderness was not sealed or
made irrevocable, for any other sin
save that of calumny.

SECT. 7. — It is prohibited to take
vengeance; for it is said, "Thou
shall not revenge thyself." This is

62

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

a great sin. It is wise to pardon all
worldly offences ; for the truly re-
flecting man will consider all the
offences that can be committed
against him in this life as vain and
trivial, and not worthy of endan-
gering his soul on account of them.
What is called vengeance ? If one
says to his neighbour, "Lend me
some of thy tools," and he answers,
" I will not ;" and, some time after,
he that refused has occasion to soli-
cit a favour from him, and obtains
the reply, " I will not lend to thee,
because thou wouldest not lend to
me."* He that does this breaks the
command, "Thou shalt not revenge
thyself." On the contrary, lend him
with a willing mind, and reward good
for evil as David says, " Have I re-
warded with evil those that injured
me ?" (Psalm vii. 4.)

SECT. 8. — He that harbours resent-

ment breaks a negative -command ;
for it is said, " Thou shalt not resent
against the children of thy people."
(Lev. xix. 18.) What is resentment ?
Suppose Reuben says to Simeon,
" Let thy house to me on hire," or
"Lend me thy ox;" and suppose
Simeon refused. Subsequently Si-
meon comes to Reuben to borrow
something. If Reuben then says,
" Here, take it ; I am not like thee ;
and I will not act to thee as thou didst
to me ; " this is transgressing the
command, "Thou shalt not resent."
Man is entirely to dismiss every feel-
ing of ill-will from his heart and
mind ; as the law not only extends
to the actual deed, but likewise to
the inward sentiment; and therefore
the mind must be pure, so that the
actions may flow from a worthy
source.

(To be continued.}

VI.— CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

SuCCOtll : " THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES."

(Continued from page 47.)

;*" As the sacred Scriptures do not add
any reason to the command of the se-
cond observance, namely, the use of
the Arbantj Minim,m " four species of
the vegetable kingdom," and in fact
do not even express the manner in
which they are to be used, and which
we learn from tradition, it would hut
ill become us to subject the cause of
this command to any ratiocination ;
but we rather say, with Aben Esra,
on another similar occasion : " It is
an ordinance, which we are not to
reason upon, but obey;" in the firm
conviction that the source from which
it emanates is alike omniscient as all
merciful, and gives not a command
without a sufficient cause, or one
that is adapted for the welfare of his
creatures. We will however give,
from the author of Akedath Itzchack,
his view of the meaning which these
Arbang Minim are intended to con-
vey. He says, p. 229 : — These Ar-
bang Minim are symbolic of the
relation between the Deity and the

universe, composed of the spiritual,
the astral, and the inferior world ;
each of which is figured by one of
these Minim or species. The Esrog,
" citron," which is carefully selected
in order to have it perfect, free from
any the slightest stain and blemish,
indicates the Great First Cause, the
Holy One, — blessed be HE ! There-
fore this fruit is not tied up with the
other three species, to denote that His
BEING is absolute and abstract from
all creation. The Looliff, or "palm-
leaves," denote the spiritual beings,
who, although separate like these
leaves, having individual existence
and distinct intellect, are neverthe-
less closely united to the stem, and,
however different in degree, form
but one whole. The myrtle denotes
the astral world, which is material,
(denoted by the word aboth, " thick
or substantial,") and the weeds of the
brook indicate this inferior world,
which is subject to total dissolution.
These are tied together, to show

* If this passive vengeance is considered iug many, and which rests not till it lias

as a transgression of the divine command, exposed or sacrificed human life to satisfy

what must that active revenge be vvhicb, its vindictive desires ? KDIT.

for one injury received, retaliates by inflict-

CUSTOMS AXD OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

63

that, however graduated, creation
forms but one whole, subject alike
to one will, regulated by one legis-
lator, and created for one purpose, —
the happiness of the creature, each
according to its degree. When tied,
they are held together with the Esrog,
to denote their perfect dependence
on the One Great Cause that gave
them all their being, and with whom
they must ever remain united."

The feast of tabernacles closes on
the seventh day. The eighth is a
separate festival, called Schmini A:tr-
eth, according to the divine com-
mand, in Numbers xxix. 35, " On
the eighth day ye shall have a solemn
assembly. Ye shall do no servile
work therein." Part of the liturgy
of the day is a prayer for rain, and a
propitious season, called Tephiloth
hageshem.

According to the regular service
of the synagogue, each Sabbath a
Sedrah or "part" of the Torah, or
Pentateuch, is read ; so that the
whole five books are read each year.
And with the new year the first book,
Bereshith, "Genesis, "is commenced.
The reading of the last Sedra in
Deuteronomy, called Zoth Habracha,
or the blessing of Moses, (Deut.
xxxiii.,) is reserved for the ninth
day, called Simchath Tor a, "the
rejoicing for the law."

The festival commences with the
close of the Schmini azereth, in the
evening ; when it is customary to
take out all the siphre torah, or
" rolls of the law," from the aron
kodesh, or " holy ark," and to carry
them in procession round the syna-
gogue. Children with flags and
streamers join in the procession, and
the synagogue is illuminated.*

In order to pay due honour to the
Torah, both at the termination of its
reading and at the recommencement,
two persons are appointed in each

• In Jerusalem, at the temple, it was
customary to celebrate the close of the feasts
vrith a festival called Simchath beth hasho-
sephe ; on which occasion brilliant illumina-
tions formed part of the festivities. As we
intend to devote a separate article to this
subject, we mention it merely to call the at-
tention of our readers to the connexion be-
tween the Himchath Tora as at present
celebrated, and that ancient festival at Jeru-
salem.— EDIT.

synagogue to fill the offices of CJia-
than tora and Chathan bereshith. The
first, " Bridegroom of the Law,"
closes the reading of the past year
with Toth habracha'm Deuteronomy.
The second " Bridegroom of Bere-
shith," or " Genesis," commences
the reading of the new year with
bereshith, or the first chapter in
Genesis. It is customary to call up
a greater number of adults than
usual to the reading of the torah,
and likewise to call up all the boys
under thirteen years of age * present
in the synagogue, in order to impress
them with veneration for the law,
and to render its commands present
to their young minds, together with
the memory of this (to them eventful)
day, when they too are permitted to
join in a rite which, during the rest
of the year, is limited to the adult
only. The liturgy of the day cele-
brates the excellency of the law,
and of the mission of Moses. The
day is passed in joyous festivity, in
accordance with the Divine com-
mand: "Ye shall rejoice on your
feast days."

With seichath tora the autumnal
festivals close, and we cannot part
from them, for the present year,
without remarking that, as no other
month contains so many and various
holy days as the seventh, it seeing
to have been the intention of the
law, that the gratitude of man should
humbly endeavour to keep pace
with the bounty of his Creator, and
that, at the very season when the
earth is teeming with the abundance
of the Divine blessing, man should
have it most forcibly impressed upon
his mind, that the love of God, and
obedience to his laws, are the only re-
turn he can make to the free gift of
the Divine mercy. Therefore, the
Rnsh Hashana calls the Israelite to
examine his past conduct; the Ase-
ritk seme teschbba tell him to repent
and amend ; the iom hakippurim

* Till the age of thirteen years is com-
pleted the boy is called Katan, or " minor/ '
and cannot form part of J/t'n/an, or " a
congregation," for lawful purposes. From
thirteen years old the boy becomes Bar
Mitzran, " a son of the commandment,"
and is in law considered as adult. Females
are so considered at the age of twelve years
and one day. — EDIT.

G4 NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

direct him'to make his peace with God adherence to that law of which it
and his fellow-men; and when his is said, "Length of life is in her right
mind is thus properly prepared, SMC- hand; Riches and honour are in her
coth teaches him to rejoice in the ful- left. Her ways are ways of pleasant-
ness of the Divine bounty ; and Sim- ness, and all her paths are peace."
ehath tora seals his attachment and (Prov. iii. 16, 170

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

ACCORDING to our promise of last week, we answer our Correspondent
D. N., whose letter we here subjoin : —

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

SIR, — Anonymous yourself, excuse an anonymous correspondent, who
would willingly be informed by your pages, for a remark or two.

1. Is not the pretended transfer (p. 4.) of the oral law from Moses, to
the compilers of the Mishna, a fond fable of the Talmudists ?

2. Is the note, p. 12, the production of the Medrash Rabba, or of the
Editor of the Review ? If of the latter, how can we account for the fact
that Aristeas (see Prideaux) and Josephus omit the miraculous part of the
story — (as it is evidently added, as by Philo and others) — Or if, with Prideaux,
Aristeas be a forgery, what authority is there for the fact in the note t

3. The Hebrew words and names should have the quantities of the words
marked.

4. Be cautious in the Metaphysical Articles : this is not the age for such
abstruse and profitless speculations as some philosophers dream.

I am, Sir,

Your obedient Servant,
October, 1230. D. N.

WE will not stop to discuss the propriety of addressing to Jews, (among
whom we have publicly classed ourselves,) the first of these questions ; but,
in reply we beg to refer our correspondent to the article " The Talmud,
No. 2," page 41 of the last week's Review, where he will find a full and cir-
cumstantial account of the transmission of the oral law, written by Maimo-
nides in the year 1178 : And we think that great man cannot be accused of
a disposition to entertain fables, or that his belief in any case was the result
of fondness, alias, folly.

With respect to the second question : The note alluded to is by the
Editor, and its authority the Talmud, Treatise Megillah, fol. 9, page 2.
Whether Aristeas be genuine or not, is a question into which neither the
space nor the purpose of our publication enables us to enter. But our opinion,
and the reason by which we support it, are much at the service of our cor-
respondent, if he will favour us with his address.

The third suggestion shall be duly attended to as soon as a universal
standard of pronunciation can be agreed on among the learned.

We thank our correspondent for the advice contained in his fourth para-
graph ; but trust he will not find our metaphysical articles either profitless
or dreams.

LONDON:— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWEXTY-EIGHTH DAY OF TISHRI, 5595.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1834.

No. 5.

I. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

THE SABBA.TH.

THE numerous class who pride
themselves on the high-sounding
cognomen matter-of-facl «ze/z,are very
fond of asserting, that they believe
in nothing which they cannot see or
understand. In the ordinary rela-
tions and affairs of life, and on»all
subjects which properly come within
the grasp of human reason, the at-
tempt to dive into the WHY and
WHEREFORE is, doubtless, useful and
praiseworthy, and has been chiefly
conducive to the splendid results
attained by the modern spirit of dis-
covery and invention. But when
the same principle is applied to mat-
ters of faith, when divine command-
ments are subjected to ratiocination,
when belief becomes conditional, and
obedience is made to depend on the
"BECAUSE" with which human ar-
rogance supplies the " WHY " which
itself has raised, — then, indeed,
fhese mighty reasoners prove that
they see but little, and understand
still less; and that, blinded by the
fumes of their o\vn vanity, they re-
semble the profound astrologer of
yore, who, intently gazing on the
stars, saw not the precipice below his
feet until his rude fall warned him
that it was too late.

One of the favourite occupations
of these sapient mortals is, to assign
reasons for the laws of Moses ; and
among these there are few with
which they make shorter work than
with the institution and observance
of the Sabbath. " Moses," say they,
" commanded the observance of the
seventh day as one of rest, because
it is wise and salutary, after six days
of laborious application, to recruit
the mental and bodily faculties by
one day's repose. In a land where
slavery was common, it was a mea-

sure of humanity to fix on one stated
day, when those who throughout the
remainder of the week groaned be-
neath the yoke of bondage should
enjoy comparative freedom, and re-
laxation from their servile tasks."

The obvious inference from this
opiniated view of the institution of
the Sabbath is, that its observance
cannot be more important than the
cause which gave rise to it. Con-
sequently, he whose mental or bo-
dily strength enables him to dispense
with the relaxation of this one day,
and who therefore continues his
customary avocations without any
interruption, merits praise for his
industry, as a useful member of so-
ciety. The rich idler, who, during
the whole week knows no employ-
ment save that of killing time, might
be permitted, in order to beguile his
ennui, to write a letter to his banker
or agent on the Sabbath : whilst the
poor artizan, whose unremitting
labour during six days does not pro-
duce sufficient to provide for the
wants of the seventh, might think
that he acquits himself of his duty
more worthily by working on the
seventh day, in order to provide
food for his family, than by passing
the Sabbath in constrained repose,
whilst his infants are crying for bread.

Nor would this be all ; but each
particular class of society would have
a different kind of labour from which
to abstain. Thus the schoolmaster,
who during six days gains his bread
by the sweat of his brow, in teaching
to others the knowledge he himseii
has acquired, would be interdicted
from affording instruction on the
Sabbath, (in like manner as the por-
ter is prohibited to follow his ordi-
nary employment of carrying loads

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

on that day,) but might be permitted
to carry a load, as that to him \vo\ild
not be a labour, but perhaps an
agreeable change, and wholesome
exercise, after his sedentary but fa-
tiguing occupation. Hence what is
permitted to one would not be so to
another. What is prohibited to a
man, whilst following any one par-
ticular calling, he would be at liberty
to do whenever he chose to relin-
quish its pursuit ; and a degree of
confusion would thus be introduced
and legalized, of which no system
of human legislation could be accus-
ed ; much less -could that of which
it is justly said, " The law of the
Lord is perfect."

If opinions such as that which we
have noticed above were not daily
gainiug ground ; if the pernicious
and arrogant habit of ratiocination
which attempts the futile task of
scanning the counsels of Infinite
Wisdom, and subjecting them to
the puerile standard of finite reason,
were not continually becoming more
prevalent ; we should not have deem-
ed it our duty to submit the present
article to our readers. For we are
no divines, and do not presume to
announce ourselves as teachers of
religion. But as late debates in the
legislatorial assemblies of Great
Britain have called general attention
to the institution and observance of
the Jewish Sabbath, our promise to
treat of the "Spirit of the Jewish
Religion and its Observances as
taken from the principal Rabbinic
writers" induces us to state what
has by them been advanced, on the
subject, as far as the books in our
possession, and the aid of our me-
mory will permit. And though we
may not hope to do justice to the
model of perfection which they have
drawn, yet we trust that even a mi-
niture, truly and faithfully executed,
may prove instructive to some and
interesting to many.

The observance of the Sabbath is
one of the ten commandments pro-
nounced by the audible voice of the
Deity, in the hearing of the assem-
bled myriads of Israel at Sinai, but
its first institution is of far older date,
and ascends to the days of creation.
Its observance is twofold, positive
and negative ; and death by stoning

is the punishment pronounced against
the transgressor, in the law of Moses.
In this respect the Sabbath stands
distinguished before all other observ-
ances. According to the Jewish
laws, there are but three prohibi-
tions which no man may transgress,
even though the refusal so to do
should cost his life. These are, Idol-
atry, Fornication, and Bloodshed ;
respecting all of which the Rabbies
say, " A man must perish rather
than transgress." All other com-
mandments (including that relating
to the Sabbath) may not only be
transgressed to escape the certain
loss of life, but even where life is
only in danger ; and this transgress-
ing in order to preserve life is not
only permitted, but enjoined as a
duty.* Therefore the punishment
of death pronounced against the
violater of the Sabbath is inflicted,
not because that institution is of
greater importance than human life,
but in order adequately to punish the
wanton transgression of the Divine
law. And as the like severe
infliction does not await the trans-
gressor of any other observance com-
manded by the law of Moses, it
proves the positive importance of the
Sabbath to be greater than that of
any other observance. We will ex-
amine how this superior importance
is expressed, and whence it arises.
The observance of this sacred day
is commanded in such words as
these : " Be careful to keep," " Re-
member," " Consecrate and keep
holy." It is called " beatitude " and
" repose ;" he who transgresses it is
said " to pollute it." In the Talmud,
and all the Rabbinical writers, the
observance of the Sabbath is consi-
dered as a most important command.
Thus the Medrash saith, " That the
Sabbath is equivalent to all the other
commandments, is expressed in the
Pentateuch, repeated in the Prophets,
and confirmed in the Tiagiographical

* Except where the Jew is forced to
transgress with the express intention of
causing him to apostatize. In that case he
is hound to prefer death to the breach of
any one commandment, although its impor-
tance he comparatively not greater than
" the changing of ar/tethe (It: mctJiana, a
shoe-tie," as the Talmud emphatically says.

SPIEIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

67

books. In the Pentateuch : — "And the
Lord said unto Moses, Howlong refuse
ye to keep my commandments, and
my laws ? Behold, I have given you
the Sabbath." (Exodus xvi. 2S, 290
In the Prophets :— " He that ob-
serves the Sabbath, not to pollute it,
and keepeth his hand from doing
any evil." (Isaiah Ivi. 2.) In the
hagio-graphical books : — " Thou
earnest down also on Mount Sinai,
and spakest with them from heaven,
and gavest them right judgments
and true laws, by the hand of Moses
thy servant ; and madest known unto
them thy holy Sabbath." (Nehemiah
ix. 13, 14.) In the Talmud, (Trea-
tise, Sabbath, fol. 119, page 2,) it is
said, " R. Juda saith, in the name
of Rab, ' If the Israelites had but
properly observed the first Sabbath,
no other nation would ever have
molested them ; but as they did not
do so, we find that immediately after
Israel broke the first Sabbath, (Exod.
xvi. 27.) Amalek came and attacked
them at Rephidim. .(Exod. xvii. 8.)'
R. Jochanan saith, ' R. Simon ben
Jochai said, Were Israel but pro-
perly to observe two Sabbaths, they
would at once be redeemed from
their captivity. As the Prophet
says, Every one that keepeth the
Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh
hold of my covenant, even them will
I bring to my holy mountain. (Isaiah
Ivi. 6, 7.) Rav Judah, the son of
Rav Samuel said, ' Rab saith, Con-
flagrations break out as a punish-
ment for polluting the Sabbath; as
it is said, But if you will not hearken
unto me, to hallow the Sabbath-day,
and not suffer a burden even to enter
at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sab-
bath-day, then will I kindle a fire
in these gates ; it shall devour the
palaces of Jerusalem, and not be
quenched. (Jer. xvii. 27.)' Abiah
saith, Jerusalem was destroyed sole-
ly through Sabbath-breaking ; as it is
said, From my Sabbaths they turned
their eyes, and I have been desecrat-
ed in it,' the city. (Ezek. xxii. 26.)"
Thus, then, we see the extreme
importance which the Rabbinical
writers all ascribe to the due ob-
servance of the Sabbath ; not be-
cause the transgressor is punished
with death, and that it therefore
ranks higher than human life ; but

because it is the plighted troth be-
tween the Deity and Israel ; as it is
written, " Verily my Sabbaths ye
shall keep ; for it is a sign between
me and you, throughout your gene-
rations, that ye may know that I am
the Lord that doth sanctify you."
(Exod. xxxi. 13.) Therefore the
wanton transgressor violates this
troth ; and his life, according to the t
Mosaic Law, pays the forfeit of his
crime ; whereas, he who breaks the
Sabbath in order to preserve life,
does not violate this plighted troth,
and is, therefore, not visited with the
like penalty.

This extreme importance is owing
to two causes : First, because the
Sabbath is an evidence of the crea-
tion of the world out of nothing.
As it is said in Genesis ii. 1-3 :
" Thus were completed the heavens
and the earth, and all their hosts :
and God completed on the seventh
day all his works which he had made,
and he rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made :
and God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified the same, for on that
day he rested from all his work, which
God had created to continue u-ork-
ing." The creation, of something
out of something, has never been
completed, but, in the words of the
text, continues to the present day ;*
consequently the completing during
the first six days was that of the crea-
tion of something out of nothing; and
as this belief, that the universe was
created out of nothing, is an essen-
tial article of the Jewish faith,t the
Sabbath is its great evidence, while,
at the same time, it represents the

* This explains the celebrated answer of
R. Jehoshua. He was asked by a Matro-
nutlia, (a Gentile lady of very high rank,)
" In how many days did God complete the
creation ? " He answered, " In sis." She
further asked, " And, since then, what is
His occupation ? '' He answered : " He
matches pairs ;" by which, in the allegori-
cal and obscure style of that age, he meant
to say, that, although the giving existence
out of nothing to all creation, and complet-
ing its organization, was accomplished in
the first six days, yet the continuation of
the laws then laid down for the course of
nature is the work of Providence, by com-
bining effect with cause throughout the
universe.

t Vide Review, page

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

essence of all religion. In this sense
we find in Bereshith Rabba :* " Rabbi
asked R. Ismael the son of Jose,
Hast thou never heard from thy
father what is the meaning of the
verse, ' God completed on the seventh
day all his work,' as on that day
nothing was created ? R. Ismael
answered : ' What was done on that
day was like the work of him who
raises a very heavy hammer, and
lets it sink down again. He raises
it during the daytime, and lowers it
after dark.' R. Simon ben Jochai
remarked : Man, who cannot exactly
time his actions to a minute, is boiind
to add from the working day to the
holy day, but the Holy One, (blessed
be HE !) who knows exactly how to
time his actions to the fractional
parts of the division of an instant,
did not in the least degree exceed
the instant which divided the seventh
day from the sixth. Genubah and
the Rabbies each proposed a para-
ble : the first said, What is the in-
stitution of the Sabbath like ? A
king erected a chupak, " canopy,"f
which he ornamented and beautified;
when it was completed there was but
one thing wanting, aiad that was the
bride. This, likewise, the creation
of the universe completed, its per-
fection required nothing but the
Sabbath." The parable_of the Rab-
bies was that of a king, who caused
a precious stone to be set in gold for
his seal ; when set, it still wanted the
engraving to complete it ; as the
universe created was not perfect
without the Sabbath. These para-
bles of the Medrash explain the ex-
pression, " Completed on the seventh
day," although on that day nothing
was created. R. Ismael wishes to
imply that creation was contrary to
nature, by using the simile of a
"heavy hammer," which requires
the exertion of strength to lift it, in
opposition to the laws of gravity;
but that, on the seventh day, crea-
tion, completed, proceeded in con-
formity to these laws, like the same

• Bereshith Rulba (which must not be
confounded with Medrash Rabba) was com-
posed by Rabba bar Charnma bar Bisna, a
celebrated writer of the second century,
who likewise took a part in the composition
of other valuable works.

t Vide note, pnge 77.

hammer falling to the ground, and
required no further exertion of the
creative power. R. Simon ben Jo-
chai wishes to indicate the extreme
precision with which the whole work
of creation was accomplished within
the six days, so as not to require
even one second of time belonging
to the seventh to complete them.
Genubah and the Rabbies, by dif-
ferent parables, convey the same
meaning, namely, that the whole of
creation has to man no other purpose
than the life to come, which is figured
in the Sabbath, and is called "the
day which is altogether rest, or re-
pose ;" that, therefore, the chupah
having no other purpose than to re-
ceive the bride, or the seal-ring than
to receive the impression, neither is
complete without these requisites.
In like manner, creation was not
completed until the institution of the
seventh day as the Sabbath ; a type
of the life to come. The Rabbies
say, that the future state is to the
present like form to matter, or im-
pression to the seal ; and this is ex-
pressed in the liturgy of the Sab-
bath : "Thou hast sanctified the
seventh day unto thy name," as the
aim and end of the works of heaven
and earth. Therefore they likewise
say, Sabbath is equivalent to all the
other observances of religion, the
fundamental truth and purpose of
which is to prepare man for a future
state.

The second cause of the great im-
portance of the Sabbath is, that, in
its essence, it is the image of faith
which it represents. Faith is the
perfect impression and conviction of
a something not present to the
senses ; as, for instance, the immor-
tality of the soul. We see not the
soul ; we know not its particular
seat in us ; we cannot define its es-
sence ; yet we firmly believe it to be
immortal; that, after the body it
inhabits shall have perished, when
the corporeal frame, dissolved unto
dust, no longer offers the slightest
token of recognition from which to
tell this was a man, the soul still sur-
vives and exists ; dnd for this belief
our warranty is FAITH. Thus the Sab-
bath likewise presents nothing ex-
ternal or palpable to the senses by
which to distinguish it from the six

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOX.

preceding clays : and is, in this re-
spect, altogether different from other
observances, each of which has some
concomitant idea upon which the
mind can fix ; some external and
substantial sign by which to repre-
sent it to the senses. For instance,
any one of the other holy days, as
Succotk, does not come before the
mind without its collaterals. The
season, the month, the day of the
month, form so many gradations of
land-marks on which memory and
reflection can fix : the using of the
arbang minim, " the four species,"
affords an evidence to the senses
of the festival distinction. But not so
the Sabbath. The counting of six days
commenced before the existence of
any man who could number them,
and the fixing of the seventh day, as
sanctified by the repose and will of
the Creator, is the work of faith,
and of faith only. What tells us,
that the day we celebrate is actually
the seventh ? Faith. What tells
us, that it was sanctified by the De-
ity, and therefore distinguished from
other days ? Faith. Years pass
away, seasons change, cold and heat
alternate at stated periods, the sun
shines, the rain descends, on the
Sabbath as on other days ; but still
six days glide away in the current of
time ; whilst each seventh, though
so perfectly like its fellows that hu-
man reason cannot conceive, or
human eyes discern any difference,
is hallowed and sanctified, because
on it faith has fixed its impression,
which no other can gainsay or obli-
terate. Hence the observance of the
Sabbath is enforced in the words,
" Be careful," and " Remember."
It must be carefully imprinted on
thy mind and heart, for no external
sign will recal it to thy memory.

In this sense we understand the
allegory of Bereshith Rabba .- — " The
Sabbath pleaded before the Holy
One: (blessed be HE !) 'Lord of the
Tniverse, to whatever thou hast
given existence, thou hast assigned
a mate ; but to me thou hast given
none.' ' The congregation of Israel
shall be thy mate,' was the reply
which proceeded from the throne of
glory : and when the Israelites in
after-ages stood at mount Sinai He
said to them, ' Remember, I have

promised the Sabbath that your con-
gregation shall be its mate;" and
therefore it is written, ' Remember
the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' "
The meaning of this allegory is :
The Sabbath does not offer any col-
lateral idea to the mind, or palpable
evidence to the senses, as does every
other observance of the law, and
every object in creation : but the
feeling of beatitude with which Isra-
elites observe the day, until they
become penetrated with its sanctity,
will afford to them, whilst that very
observance affords to others, a posi-
tive evidence and collateral idea of
the Sabbath. And, to express this
connexion, the Medrash emphatically
uses the word "' mate," and enforces
it by the divine word "remember."

In examining what constitutes the
due observance of the Sabbath, we
have to consider, FIRST, the negative,
THE.V, the positive, commandments.

The negative commandment is a
prohibition of work or labour on that
day. It is, however, not left to the
decision of individual opinions to
define what constitutes work ; but
the oral law enumerates thirty-nine
different species of melacha* " occu-
pations," called abotk, "principals;"
which again have several branches,
called toldoth, " offspring." The first
are enumerated in the Talmud :
(Treatise, Sabbath, fol. 73 :) "Princi-
pal occupations there forty less one;
namely, 1. To sow. 2. TO plough.
3. To mowN 4. To gather into
sheaves. 5. To thrash. 6. To win-
now. 7- To sort corn. S. To grind.
9- To sieve. 10. To knead. 11.
To bake. 12. To shear wool. 13.
To wash wool. 14. To card. 15.
To dye. 16. To spin. 17. To warp.
18. To shoot two threads. 19. To
weave two threads. 20. To cut and
tie two threads. 21. To tie. 22.
To untie. -23. To sew two stitches.
24. To tear two threads with intent
to sew. 25. To catch game. 26.
To slaughter. 27. To skin. 28.
To salt a hide. 2Q. To singe. 30.
To tan. 31. To cut up a skin. 32.
To write two letters. 33. To erase
two letters with intent to write. 34.
To build. 35. To demolish. J36.

* It is a singular coincidence that this
word occurs in the Pentateuch precisely
thirtv-nine times.

70

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

To extinguish fire. 37. To kindle
fire. 38. To strike with a hammer.
39. To carry out of one reschuth * or
" property" into another.

From this test it is evident that it
is not the laborious or servile occu-
pations only that are prohibited,
but many that require no bodily ex-
ertion ; such as writing two letters,
or carrying a load, however small,
from house to house, or from the
house into the street ; the trans-
gressor of any of these forfeits his
life. Should the reader ask, " Why
have these been singled out before
all other occupations, to be visited
with prohibitions and heavy penal-
ties ? " we have but one answer to
give: Such are the commands of
religion, which we are bound to
obey. We know that the institution
of the Sabbath dates from creation,
and the rest which on the seventh
day succeeded to tlie active exertions
of creative power during the preced-
ing six days. But we do not know
the connection between this active
exertion of creative power and the
occupations that are prohibited ;
because we are not sufficiently ac-
quainted with nature, or initiated
into her secret workings. Thus, for
instance, we are prohibited to kindle
or extinguish fire. But what is fire ?
What powers are put into activity to
kindle — what to extinguish it ? What
connection is there between these
and those of creation, the exercise
of which led to the resting on, and
the institution of, the Sabbath?
These are questions before which
our reason is compelled to own its
weakness, and our philosophy re-
mains mute. It is therefore our
duty cheerfully to obey what we can-
not elucidate.

Tradition, which enumerates these
thirty-nine different occupations,
rests itself on the construction of
the Tabernacle ; and cites the
connexion between the command
to observe the Sabbath, (Exo-
dus xxxv. 1-3,) and that to erect

* According to Talmudic law, all real
property is two-fold 1>rrn nWl, individual
property, and D'U'VT milTi? common proper-
ty ; and the prohibition here is to carry
either from the property of one individual
into that of another, or from 'individual into
common property.

the Tabernacle, in the fourth and
subsequent verses of the same chap-
ter. It goes on to say, that those
thirty -nine occupations are, such as
were connected with that erection,
and that such only are prohibited
under punishment of death. This
is demonstrated at great length in
the Talmud. (Treatise, Sabbath,
folio 67, p. 2. et seq.) The ta-
bernacle on which rested the glory
of God, is considered as a perfect
type of creation, of which the Sab-
bath is the representative. Accord-
ingly we find in Bereshitk Rabba :
" II. Jacob, the son of R. Jose, ,saith,
' Why is it written, I love the habi-
tation of thy house, the place on
which thy glory resteth ? ' (Psalm
xxvi. 8.) Because that place, the
tabernacle, is equivalent to the
whole creation, as we find that
of the tabernacle it is said, ' Thou
shalt make curtains ; ' (Exodus
xxvi. 7 ; ) and of creation it is
said, ' Who spreads out the heavens
like a curtain.' (Psalm civ. 2.) Of
the tabernacle it is said, ' And the
veil shall divide ;' (Exodusjxxvi. 33;)
and at the creation it is said, ' Let
there be a firmament, and it shall
divide.' (Genesis i. 6 .) Of the taber-
nacle it is said, 'And thou shalt make
a laver of copper, and shalt piit
water therein;' (Exodus xxx. 18 ;)
and at the creation it is said, 'Let
the waters be gathered.' (Genesis
i. 9.) Of the tabernacle it is said,
' Thou shalt make a candlestick for
lights;' (Exodus xxv. 41.) and at
the creation it is said, ' Let there
be lights in the firmament.' (Gene-
sis i. 14.) Of the tabernacle it is
said, ' The Cherubim, or winged
beings, shall spread their wings ; '
(Exodus xxv. 20 ; ) and at the crea-
tion it is said, ' And birds that wing
their flight above the earth.' (Genesis
i. 20.) Of the tabernacle it is said,
'And do thou bring near unto thee ;'
(Exodus xxviii. 1 ; ) and at the crea-
tion it is said, ' And he brought her
to Adam.' (Genesis ii. 22.) Of the
tabernacle it is said, ' Thus all
the work of the tabernacle was
finished ; ' (Exodus xl. 32 ; ) and at
the creation it is said, ' Thus the
heavens and the earth were finished.'
(Genesis ii. 1.) Of the tabernacle it
is said, ' And Moses blessed them ; '

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

71

(Exodus xxxix. 43 ; ) and of the
creation it is said, 'And God blessed
the seventh day.' (Genesis ii. 3.)
Of the tabernacle it is said, ' And he
sanctified it and all its vessels ; '
(Leviticus viii. 10 ; ) and at the crea-
tion it is said, 'And he sanctified it,
because he rested on it from all his
work.' (Genesis ii. 3.) Therefore it
is said in Exodus xxxv. 2, ' Six days
shall work be done; but on the
seventh there shall be to you an holy
day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord ; '
and, in the fifth verse of the same
chapter, ' Take ye from among you
an offering, &c.' "

Another equally striking passage
we find in the Talmud : (Trea-
tise, Brochoth, fol. 59;) "R Judah
said, in the name of Rab, Bezaleel *
knew how to combine the letters
through which heaven and earth
were created ; -f for of him it is said,
' I have filled him with the Spirit of
God in wisdom and in understand-
ing.' (Exodus xxx. 3.) And of the
creation it is said, ' The Lord by

wisdom has founded the earth ; by
understanding hath he established the
heavens.' (Proverbs iii. 19.) Among
the many instances adduced by the
Rabbinical writers, to prove the ana-
logy between creation and the taber-
nacle, we cite but one more; namely,
the tabernacle was erected by free
offerings, as it is said, " Every man
and woman whose heart made them
willing to bring.' (Exodus xxxv.
29.) In this, too, it resembles
creation, which was the ;free and
spontaneous act of the Divine will.
This connection between creation
and the Tabernacle, occasioned all
such labours to be prohibited as had
been required at the erection of the
latter; because these are considered,
more than any others, to have a di-
rect relation to those which led to
the institution of the Sabbath. From
these labours [all Jews, without any
exception, are alike bound to abstain ;
and death is the punishment which
the law of Moses denounces and in-
flicts on the transgressor.

(To be continued.)

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

Eben Hangezer • "ROCK OF ASSISTANCE."
Containing Conjugal Laws.

IT is the duty of every man to take
a wife, in order to be fruitful and
multiply, in obedience to the Divine
command : "And God blessed them,
and said unto them, Be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth." (Gen. i.
28.) He that obeys not this com-
mand is as if he were guilty of blood-
shed ; as he does not contribute to
increase mankind, that is made in
the image of God.

APPENDIX. — He that does not en-
ter into the state of wedlock remains
unblessed, has no share^in the whole
law, and is not called a perfect man ;
but, when he gets married, his sins
are remitted, as it is said, " He
that gaineth a wife gains a real good,
and is favoured with grace from the
Lord." (Prov. xviii. 22.)

* The son of Uri, t'ae son of Hur, of the
tribe of Judah, the chief artificer at the
erection of the tabernacle.

t This, among ] many other striking
places, confirm.-' what we saM in our Intro-

No woman can be considered as
the wife of a man, except she be
lawfully betrothed to her husband.
But if a man and woman cohabit to-
gether without legal espousal, the
law compels them either to separate,
or to enter into legal wedlock.

As soon as a woman is betrothed
to a man she becomes his wife, is
interdicted to any other man, and
cannot contract a fresh marriage
without being legally divorced.

According to the law of Moses,
the legal act which constitutes be-
trothing is three-fold. 1. By gift.
2. By written contract. 3. By con-
summation. But our Rabbies, with-
out setting aside the legality of the
last, have prohibited it, in order to
prevent impropriety of conduct.

duction to Cabbala, (page IS,) that the
Talmudic Rabbies were acquainted with
that science, as these words can have no
other bnt a Cabbalistic sense.

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS-

1. The betrothing by Gift is as fol-
lows : —

» If a man, in the presence of two
witnesses, gives to a woman apru-
tah, or " coin," or the value of a coin,
and saith unto her, " Thou art meku-
desheth, or ' sanctified unto me,' "
(the phrase generally employed to
express betrothing, and understood
as conveying that meaning,) "by vir-
tue of this coin according to the law
of Moses and of Israel ;" and if she
consent to receive the gift, it consti-
tutes a legal betrothing. If, instead
of using the word mekudesheth,
" sanctified," he "has used any other,
such as, " Thou art wedded, or mar-
ried, or betrothed unto me," or any
other, which, according to the Ian-'
guage of the country, distinctly con-
veys his meaning, so that she has
understood him, and consents to re-
ceive the gift, it is ailegal betrothing.

If he has said, " Thou art sancti-
fied," but has omitted the words,
" unto me," the betrothing is void.

APPENDIX. — Some are of opinion,
however, that this omission is imma-
terial, and does not annul the le-
gality of the betrothing.

But if he says to her, "Thou shalt
take me as thy master, or thy bride-
groom, or thy husband ; " the be-
trothing is void ; for, according to
the law, it is the husband who
takes a wife, not the wife who takes
a husband.

If a man gives a woman a gift,
and she receives it, saying, " I mek-
adesh, or ' sanctify,' myself to thee,"
it is a legal betrothing, if there has
been any previous proposal of matri-
mony between them ; but if not, the
legality is doubtful. But if the man
replies, " I consent," it is a legal be-
trothing, though no previous proposal
has been made.

The value of the gift must not be
less than the weight of half a barley-
corn in pure silver.

If a man betroths a woman, he
must place the kedushin, " that with
which he betroths her," (either gift
or contract,) in her hand. But if
she consents that he should throw it
into her lap, or into an inclosure or
field belonging to her, and is agree-
able to receive the gift or contract
thus thrown, it is a legal act of be-
trothing.

But if the woman be in a house,
or an inclosure, or field belonging to
him, he is bound to place ihekedushin
in her hand or on her lap, as other-
wise the act is void.

If they are in a place the joint pro-
perty of both, and he has, with her
consent, thrown her the kedushin,
and she has not caught it either in
her hand or on her lap, the legality
of the act is doubtful.

If they are in a public place, or in
a place belonging to a third party,
and he throws her the kedushin in
such a manner that it falls more
within his reach than hers, the be-
trothing is void ; but if it fall
equi-distant, the legality of the act is
doubtful.

2. The betrothing by Contract is as
follows : —

If a man writes on any substance
with legible characters, " Thou art
mekudesheth, ' sanctified,' unto me by
virtue of this contract, according to
the law of Moses and of Israel ; "
and hands it to her before witnesses,
and she consents to receive it, know-
ing its contents, it is a legal act of
betrothing.

His purpose in writing the contract
must be to give it to the woman to
whonvhe actually is mekadesh, or "be-
trothed," as otherwise it is void. So
that if he.hasjwritten thecontractVith
the intention to give it to one woman,
and afterwards gives it to another,
the act becomes void.

After the betrothing, the blessing
of espousal must be pronounced over
a goblet of wine.

It is as follows : —

" Blessed art thou, O Lord our
God, who hast sanctified us with thy
commands.-andhast prohibited us to
commit fornication ; but hast per-
mitted us marriage by means of
chupah * and kedushin. _ Blessed art
thou, O Lord our God, who sanctifi-
est thy people Israel."

At the pronouncing of this blessing
a mittian f ought to be present.

•The marriage is considered as com-
plete as soon as bride and bridegroom are
alone under one chupah or roof. It is
therefore customary to place them alone
under a canopy which is figuratively
called and considered the chupah.

t Minian, " number," denotes an as-
sembly of ten adult Israelites, and forms
a lawful congregation for any purpose.

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

A man may cause the act of be-
trothing to be performed by a mes-
senger who represents him. The
authorization is either in general
terms, as, " Betroth a woman for
me, that she may become my wife ; "
or special, as, " Betroth such an one
for me," &c. And in the act of
betrothing the messenger says,
" Thou art mekudesheth unto such an
one," &c.

APPENDIX. — Although such be-
trothing by a messenger or proxy is
legal, it is improper ; particularly if
a general authorization is given to
espouse any woman whom the
principal may never have seen or
known.

The messenger is qualified to be a
witness of the betrothing.

No witnesses are required to attest
the appointment of the messenger;
for if principal and messenger both
assert the fact of his appointment
before witnesses, this is a sufficient
proof thereof.

But if a woman appoints a mes-
senger or proxy to receive the kedu-
shin for her, such appointment must
be made in the presence of two wit-
nesses.

APPENDIX. — Some are of opinion,
that the appointment of a messenger
by the man must likewise be made
before witnesses.

Someareof opinion, that if afather
say to his son, " I intend to mekadesh
such a woman to be thy wife ; " and
the son remains silent, the father be-
comes a legal messenger or proxy for
his son, whose silence is considered
as a consent to the father appointing
himself as such.

All men are trustworthy messen-
gers, and qualified for such an ap-
pointment, except one who is deaf
and dumb, an idiot, a minor, an
idolater, or a bondman.

Some maintain, that a messenger
may legally delegate his trust, by re-
mitting to another the kedushin, or
contract, he is charged with. But if
the principal did not give or name
any fixed sum to his messenger as
kedushin, or the value of kedushin,
but simply said, " Mekadesh her unto
me by as large a gift as thou mayest
think proper," in that case the mes-
senger cannot delegate his trust.
Others, however, are of opinion,

that a messenger cannot in any
case appoint another to act in his
stead.

If a man send a letter, through
one who is himself unqualified to be
a messenger, to another whom he ap-
points to act for him, some are of
opinion that an appointment through
such a medium is legal, whilst others
declare it to be void.

If a man say to his messenger,
" Betroth unto me a wife at such a
place," and if the messenger shall
go to any other place and there be-
troth a woman, such act of betroth-
ing is void ; any departure from the
precise letter of his trust which the
messenger allows himself vitiates his
authorization, as well as every thing
which he may have done in ths ex-
ercise thereof : As, for instance, if
the principal said, " Betroth unto
me such a woman, conditionally, or
unconditionally," and the messenger
does the reverse. But if he says,
" Go and betroth unto me such a
woman, at such a place," and the
messenger does betroth the sama
woman, but in another place ; this
does not vitiate the trust, as the par-
ticular woman, and not the particu-
lar place, was the real condition
thereof.

If a man says to his messenger,
" Be mekadesh unto me a woman,"
without naming any one in particu-
lar, and the messenger dies without
his principal knowing whether he
executed his mission, or with whom ;
the presumption is, that his messen-
ger has acquitted himself of his trust,
and therefore he must not marry
any woman that has female relatives
within the forbidden degrees of con-
sanguinity, as it is to be feared that
his messenger may have betrothed
him to one of them ; such degrees
are mother, daughter, sister, &c.

But if these relations were mar-
ried at the time he appointed his
messenger, he maymarry thewoman,
although previous to the death of his
messenger these relations were be-
come either widows or divorced ; as
the betrothing, by the messenger, of
a person who, at the time the trust
was confided to him, was not in a
condition to become betrothed, is
void and illegal. But if the relations
declare, that the messenger did not

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

betroth either of them, he may marry
the woman.

If any one appoints a messenger
to betroth unto him a certain woman,
and in the interim the principal has

case the words to be employed by
her intended husband are, " Such
an one who has sent thee, is me-
kudesheth unto me," &c. The trust
to the woman's messenger is in every

himself espoused another woman • respect subject to the same laws and
within the forbidden degrees of con- regulations as that of the man.
sanguinity to her, without its being
known, which betrothing was the
first in point of time, (for if the mes-
senger's betrothing be prior, the
man's own betrothing is void,) both
are unlawful to him, and neither of
them can marry again until they are

legally divorced.

A woman can appoint a messenger
to receive the kedushin ; in which

One woman may act as messenger
or proxy to another : But if the man
says to this messenger during the
ceremony of betrothing, " And thou
likewise," she is actually and legally
betrothed unto him. If both man
and woman have each appointed
their respective messengers, such
betrothing by proxy is altogether
unlawful.

(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim :

(Continued from page 57 J

BOOK OP PRINCIPLES.'

CHAPTER XXIV.

HAVING proceeded thus far in es-
tablishing what are the essential
principles inherent in the Divine
laws, and laid down rules of evi-
dence needful for our guidance, it
behoves us, before we proceed any
further, to solve a doubt which af-
fects every system of faith; namely,
whether the professor of any parti-
cular creed is permitted, entitled, or
in duty bound, to investigate the
law which he obeys, and the faith
which he professes ; and to examine
if they are true, and in every respect
conformable to the essential princi-
ples of Divine laws or not ? And,
in case this investigation be per-
mitted, whether he is justified in
choosing for himself such other sys*
tern of laws and faith as, according
to the restilt of his researches, ap-
pears, more closely than the one he
professes, to approximate to these
essential principles ? The importance
of these questions becomes evident
when we consider, that if the be-
liever is in duty bound, or merely
permitted, to investigate the princi-
ples of bis own faith, and to com-
pare them with those of any other
system, he cannot have that inti-
mate and complete conviction which
is the foundation of all faith, and is
therefore not capable of receiving
tbe reward due to faith; the abso-
lute condition of which is, that its

impression on the soul must be per-
fect, and not leave to any other pos-
sible impression the power to gainsay
or contradict it, or permit the idea
to arise that any different system
can possibly be true ; whereas the
very investigation implies doubt.
We go on to ask : If such investiga-
tion be permitted, what would be
the result ? Should his researches
acquaint him with some other system
of faith which appears to him to
possess a greater degree of truth
than his own, is he in that case per-
mitted to change ? Were we to as-
sume that he has that permission,
the inevitable consequence would
be, that no believer could either be
happy or saved. The instant faith
becomes dependent on research,
and is a matter of choice, reason
dictates that such choice ought not
to be one system out of two, but one
out of all. Consequently, if he has
found some other system of faith
which he considers as more entitled
to credence than his own, and has
accordingly embraced it ; he cannot
remain firm in the new faith he has
thus chosen for himself; as the same
permission to investigate, duly exer-
cised, might make him acquainted
with a third system preferable to the
second ; a fourth, better entitled to
credibility than the third; and so
on, in endless progression, until it
would be impossible for any man to

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

75

become confirmed in his faith before
he has fairly and fully investigated
every creed extant in the world ;
from all of which he is to choose one.
And though he may at any time
think his examinations and researches
have encompassed every system of
laws that men place faith in as Di-
vine, yet it is possible that, in some
obscure corner of the globe, a reli-
gion may be found, which, were its
tenets known to him, would com-
mand 'his belief before all other.*.
Thus it would be utterly impossible
for any man to become confirmed,
happy, and saved in his faith, as
that faith would be the result of an
examination so vastly comprehensive
that he could never be certain of
having reached its limit.

But if this result should induce
us to adopt the contrary principle,
and to say, that no professor of any
system of faith is entitled or per-
mitted to investigate or examine its
principles ; one of two equally pre-
posterous consequences must follow :
EITHER that all systems of faith lead
man to happiness here and felicity
hereafter, so that none of them has
any preference before others in re-
warding its believers ; whence the
absurd fallacy results that creeds,
inculcating principles diametrically
opposite, (each maintaining its own
veracity, and applying the term false
to all others,) should alike possess
the power of attaining perfection : —
OR, that amongst all conflicting sys-
tems, only one can he true, and lead
to salvation : And then the blasphem-
ous fallacy results, that the Deity
its maa from attaining to the
knowledge of what is the ri.ht ; and
that, although man is not permitted
to examine, or even to doubt, the
principles of his faith, and much
less to deviate into or embrace any
other, he is nevertheless to be de-
prived of the reward due to his firm
and sincere belief in a system which
at lea-t has some resemblance to the
one divinely inspired. No ; we say
once more, " Far be it from God to
act unjustly, or Omnipotence to do
wrong." (Job xxxiv. 12.)

Under whatever aspect we con-
template these doubts, their solution
appears equally difficult. It is, how-
ever, a task, the performance of

i. 2

which it is our duty to attempt. We
therefore say, If all religious systems
at present known were with one ac-
cord to accuse each other of impos-
ture, and were every one of them
to maintain that no other than itself
was or ever had been true or derived
from a Divine revelation ; then, in-
deed, the difficulties of our task
would be utterly insurmountable, —
as, in the chaos of conflicting opi-
nions, there would be no basis or cer-
tain point from which to proceed.
But if all other systems of faith at
present known to us,however much at
variance on other points, u-ith one ac-
cord confess, that ONE PARTICULAR
SYSTEM had, at some time or other,
been divinely revealed ; (although
they deny its still continuing in force,
and maintain that its validity was
limited to a certain period, event, or
purpose, and has subsequently been
superseded ;) in that case, we say,
that man cannot doubt, and is not
permitted to call in question, that
in which they all agree; namely,
the Dicine origin of this one particu-
lar system. And as he has thus a
sufficient basis, a certain and un-"
questionable truth, from whence to
direct his inquiries, ir.an is permitted
to examine, whether the allegations
of other systems as to the limited
duration of this particular one, can
have any force. Such examination
must, however, be directed to the,
essential principles of any second or
third system, according to the Rules
laid down for his guidance in the
eleventh chapter of this our fmt di-
vision ; and must likewise embrace
the question, whether a system con-
fessedly revealed by the Deity, can
be intended for a limited time only ?
and in that case what parts of it
can possibly be superseded or sub-
ject to alteration ? Each believer is
bound to submit the system of law,
which he examines, to two distinct
considerations : 1. The laws ab-
stractedly and intrinsically, accord-
ing to their enactments and prohibi-
tions : If they only teach to avoid
wrong and pursue right, an
regulate the affairs of human so.
it behoves him to know that such
are only natural laws of society and
civilization, but not Divine. If, in
addition to thus teaching tj

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF WIB RABBIES.

what is humanly wrong, and to pur-
sue what is humanly right, they,
moreover, are intent upon instruct-
ing man in true knowledge concern-
ing God and the spiritual world, and
upon imparting wisdom, in order to
penetrate the truth in all its bear-
ings, and to conceive the absolute
unity and immateriality of God, then
they bear the marks of Divine inspi-
ration. 2. The messenger who pro-
mulgates them, and who asserts that
the Divine revelation has been af-
forded to him. And here is to be
examined whether his doctrines are
original, or whether he has appro-
priated them to himself from some
other previous system. The charac-
ter and perfections of this messenger,
his qualities and actions, are likewise
to be considered ; and particularly,
whether his conduct correspond with
his doctrines, if he denied himself of
worldly enjoyments, and despised
the allurements of lusts ; the indul-
gence of which cannot possibly be
right, as the dictates of nature teach
us to feel ashamed of it.

Whatever skill or prudence may
be brought to bear on such an ex-
amination, it still remains possible
,to err ; as a wise teacher and ob-
server of ethics may succeed in lay-
ing down principles approximating
to, or indeed closely resembling,
those of the Divine laws. If the
question then arise, " How or by
what means is the origin of such
principles to be ascertained or dis-
tinguished ? " we answer, The test
is, whether such laws, in all their es-
sential principles and branches, are
in perfect and entire accordance with
the three essential principles of the
Divine laws, and the branches they
necessarily involve, as enumerated
in our fifteenth chapter of this divi-
sion ; whether they teach to avoid
wrong and pursue right, and, more-
over, are intent upon instructing man
in the knowledge of truth, free from
all womanish and silly fancies, and
of all tenets that bear the evident
impression of human fallacy. If
they meet this test in every respect,
they can lead man to perfection,
and, as we said before, they bear the
marks of a Divine origin. To denote
this twofold instruction by the law
our Rabbies of blessed memory said

in Torath Cohanim, " Love thy neigh-
bour like thyself." R. Akiva said,
" This is the great principle of the
law." Ben Asai said, " This, the
book of the generation of man, is the
great principle of the law " Their
meaning was, that the great princi-
ples of the law are twofold ; as it
comprises, 1. Laws teaching the
duties towards our fellow-men ; the
essence of which is, " Love thy
neighbour like thyself." 2. Laws
for perfecting the soul; the essence
of which is, " On the day that God
created man, in the likeness of God
made he him," as set forth in the
Book of the Generations of Man ;
(Gen. v. 1, 2 ;) and by which is de-
noted, that, as the human spirit is
in the likeness of the Deity, man
must be careful not to debase it in
himself or in any other, but must
strive that it may continue such, by
cleaving to the exalted Source from
which it is derived.

The system of faith which can
perfectly and in all its parts bear the
application of the above test, appears
to bear the impression of Divinity ;
but, as it still remains possible, in
the manner we before stated, that a
wise teacher and observer of ethics
might succeed in borrowing and in-
corporating all these principles in
his system, it is further necessary to
investigate the mission of the mes-
senger, and whether its concomitant
and accompanying circumstances are
approved as perfectly and indisputa-
bly true, according to the standard
determined in our eighteenth chapter.

The system of laws which meets
all these conditions is, beyond all
doubt, of Divine origin ; but if it falls
short of them in any one respect, it
is an imposture. It is such, though
it assume the semblance of Divinity,
by admitting the essential principles
and their branches ; and fully stamps
itself as such, when it departs from
or denies all or any of them.

CHAPTER XXV.

IT remains our duty to enter into
another investigation before we can
close this our first division, namely,
whether the Divine Laws must abso-
lutely be one and the same to all
mankind, or may be various to dif-
ferent men ? It appears proper, at

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE5.

77

first sight, that these laws should be
one and the same to all mankind, as
well on account of HIM who affords,
as of those who receive, the revela-
tion ; for as HE (blessed be HE !) is
essentially One in every respect, and
has no more distinct relation to one
man or to some men, than what he
has to all others, whatever proceeds
from him must likewise be uniform.
And as those who receive are but
one, as members of the same species,
alike in their nature, the laws eman-
ating from Him to lead them to per-
fection ought essentially to be the~~
same to all men. But, upon mature
reflection, we are of opinion, that,
although on account of the DIS-
PENSER of revelation there is an ab-
solute necessity that what emanates
from Him must be uniform and the
same to the whole human species,
yet, on account of the RECEIVERS,
there is no such absolute necessity,
but that there may be a variation ; as
it is well known that the natural
dispositions of men differ, and that
such difference results either from
their birth, as an inheritance of their
fathers, or from other, to us un-
known, causes ; and is so great,
that, in some instances, the disposi-
tions of men are diametrically oppo-
site. Thus, one man may naturally
possess sufficient ferociousness to
murder his infant offspring with his
own hand ; whilst another is so ten-
der-hearted that he is incapable of
killing a mouse or a fly. These dif-
ferences may arise from the various
dwellings of man, — mountains and
plains, inland or maritime, — and
from their respective air and cli-
mate ; each of which, perhaps, ex-
ercises its peculiar influence. We
see that in one country vegetables
are of pleasant flavour, and consti-
tute a wholesome diet ; whilst, in
another country, the same vegeta-
bles may be unwholesome, because
the air is impure ; and, in a third,
they have not the same pleasant fla-
vour because it is humid. The ani-
mate beings to whose sustenance the
vegetables contribute may be sub-
ject to the same influence; and
thence may arise the surprising di-
versity of national character, as
we find some nations gifted with
more solidity of judgment than

others. In one, liveliness bordering
on frivolity, in another, dulness ap-
proaching to apathy, seems to be the
governing principle. The natural
result of these different dispositions
is, that the general idea of what is
proper and improper must, in like
manner, be different, and that, con-
sequently, each nation or society re-
quires, and has, its own peculiar
rules and regulations.* But as these
variations exist only on the part of
those to whom the Divine laws are
directed, and not at all in Him by
whom these laws are given, it follows
that any variations there maybe in the
Divine laws only regard these re-
ceivers,— but not at all the Giver :
That is to say, variations may at
one and the same time exist in parti-
cular enactments, relating to what is
proper or improper, according to the
different dispositions of the receivers ;
but what relates to the Giver, namely,
the true knowledge of Him and the
essential principles of His laws, to-
gether with the branches necessarily
resulting from these principles, can-
not and do not vary or ever undergo
any alteration. Thus we find that
the laws of the Noachida?, and the
laws of Moses, although they^vary
in some particulars, as we shall
hereafter more fully detail, perfectly
agree in whatever concerns the Divine
Author of both, and were at the
same time equally obligatory and
binding, — the law of Moses on the
Israelites, and the law of the sons of
Noah on all other nations of the
earth. The difference between them
arose, partly from what related to
the land of Israel in particular, and
partly from what related to the va-
rieties of national disposition, of
which we have already spoken.
There can be no doubt that all the
nations of the earth could and did
attain to perfection and felicity, ac-
cording to their degrees, by the pro-
per observance of the law of Xoa-
chidae, such law being truly and un-
questionably of Divine origin ; and
accordingly our Rabbies said, " The
righteous among the nations have a
portion in the life to come."

* These ideas of R. Joseph Albo seem
to have been adopted by the President de
Montesquieu, and form the basis of bis
celebrated work, De I' Esprit des Lout.

78

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

All this fully proves, that two
distinct systems of Divine laws may,
at one and the same time, be in force
with different nations ; but that,
however distinct, they do not vary
in their essential principles, which,
on investigation, always correspond
in every particular to the test we
have already mentioned. But whe-
ther it be possible that the Divine
laws, so far as they actually are such,
may become altered or varied in any
one respect to the same nation, in
the same land, is what we propose,
with the Divine permission, to in-
vestigate in our third Division.

CHAPTER XXVI.

FROM all that we have said in the
preceding chapters it results, I.
That the essential principles of the
Divine laws are three : — 1. The ex-
istence of the Deity. 2. Revelation.
3. Rewards and punishments ; — and
that, without these three essential
principles, it is impossible to con-
ceive any Divine laws. II. That
from these three essential and radi-
cal principles spring forth certain
necessary and concomitant branches,
as the different kinds of the same
genus ; the ^connection of which
branches, and the radical principles
from whicfrthey spring, is such, that
they cannot subsist without each
other. III. That these branches,
according to the united dictates of
reason, investigation, and the law of
Moses, are, Of the first principle, (the
existence of the Deity,) his unity,
his immateriality, his perfection, and
that He (blessed be He !) has no re-
lation to time. Of the second princi-
ple, (revelation,) prophecy, and the
mission of the messenger. Of the
third principle, (rewards and punish-
ments,) the Divine omniscience and
providence, and that rewards and
punishments are both corporeal here
and spiritual hereafter. IV. That it
is not proper to assume the law of
Moses as one of these essential and
radical principles, or as one of their
branches ; because the principle that
these divine laws are not subjected
to change or alteration, is already
comprised in the branch of the
second principle, the mission of the

messenger. The coming of the Mes-
siah, and the resurrection of the dead,
are already comprised in the third
principle, Rewards and punishments.
V. That these are therefore articles
of faith which it is incumbent on
every believer in the law of Moses
to receive, but are not essential prin-
ciples either to this law in particular,
or to the Divine laws generally. VI.
But it is a principle peculiar and
essential to the law of Moses, that
the proper observance of any one
of its commandments is sufficient to
lead man to a commensurate degree
of perfection and the life to come ;
as we have stated in our twenty-third
chapter of this first division. VII.
That no laws claiming to be Divine
can be considered as such, if they re-
ject or deny any one of the essential
and radical principles, or of their
branches. VIII. That the full num-
ber of these is eleven ; namely, 1.
The existence of the Deity. 2. His
unity. 3. His immateriality. 4. His
perfection. 5. His independence of
time. 6. Revelation. 7- Prophecy
8. Approval of the Messenger and his
mission. 9. Divine omniscience.
10. Providence. 11. Rewards and
punishments, both corporeal and
spiritual. As the liberty of choice
is pre-supposed in every system of
legislation, we do not consider it as
peculiarly essential to the Divine
laws.

This closes the first division of
our BOOK OF PRINCIPLES. Praise
be to GOD, whose aid has hitherto
supported us ! Our intention was
to close our labours, and proceed no
further in this our work ; but, hav-
ing been requested by dear and be-
lieving friends, searchers and lovers
of truth and wisdom, to demonstrate
to them more fully, plainly, and dis-
tinctly, these essential principles,
their branches, and whatever else to
them appertains, we have consented
to their request, and enlarged our
work by the addition of three new
divisions.

In God alone is all aid and ast-ist-
ance. Blessed be His holy name
above all praises and benedictions !
Amen.

END OK THE FIRST DIVISION.

(To be continued.)

IV. COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

(Continued from page 59J

'•la the beginning God created the heavens ywrt nNI and the earth. And the earth
was vuv ^lrl> shapeless and heterogeneous ; "TClTi, and darkness -was on the sur-
face of the cinn deep. And the rrn Rnach * of Elolnin hovered over the face
of r^T the waters. And God said, Let there be TW light : And there waa
light." (Genesis i. 1, 2.)

Haaretz,^- " the earth." — According
to Aben Ezra, this word denotes the
element earth only. But the gen-
eral opinion is, that it comprises
all the elementary materials ;
which is proved to be correct by
the fact, that, at the commence-
ment of creation, the elements
were not organized or separated
from each other. This was done,
and names assigned to each of
them, in a succeeding day.
Tohu, " the shapeless matter." — The
same word is used to express a man
being astonished or confounded.
Ubohu," heterogeneous." — This word
is composed of two, bo-hu, " It
is in him;" to denote that the
germ of the future developement
was contained in the shapeless
matter.

Choshech," and darkness." — Different
opinions prevail respecting the ori-
gin of darkness. Some commenta-
tors main tain it to be increate, as be-
ing merely the absence or negation
of light : And they rest their opi-
nion on the root of the word
which is "] tt?fl, to deny or negate ;
as, " Thou hast not denied me
thine only son." (Genesis xxii. 16.)
Others, on the contrary, maintain
darkness to be created ; and sup-
port their opinion by these words
of the Prophet : " I form the light,
and create darkness." * (Isaiah
xlv. ;.) The book Sohar, " Splen-

* We give no translation of this word, in
order to leave the reader his choice unbias-
sed between the opinions of different com-
mentators.

t The old Hebrew grammarians say,
that the root of the word t*vj is tp to run,
which seems to have an analogy with the
present system of the earth's diurnal and
annual movements.

t Darkness appears to be merely the
absence or negation of light, but created ;
and therefore the expression of the prophet
is correct. Before creation there was no
space ; which, however unable we may be to
understand the fact, it is certain was cre-

dour," maintains that the sub-
stance of darkness is earth ; § in
proof of which it cites the words,
" and darkness shall cover his
name." (Eccles. vi. 4.) According
to some opinions, the darkness men-
tioned in Genesis is a parti-
cular darkness, or thick cloud,
which subsequenly guided the
Israelites in the wilderness, and of
which it is said, " He made dark-
ness his secret abode." (Psalm
xviii. 11.) By means of this parti-
cular darkness they explain the
passage in Genesis ix. 13, 14 : "I
have set my bow in the cloud :
And it shall come to pass, when I
bring a cloud over the earth my
bow shall be seen in the cloud;" not
in the inferior clouds visible to the
human eye, but in this celestial
cloud, or darkness of the creation,
which we find mentioned again in
Exodus xiii. 21 :" And the Lord
went before them in a pillar of the
cloud." And again : " Then the
cloud covered the tent of the
congregation." (Exodus xi. 34.)
"The cloud filled the house of
the Lord, so that the priests could
not stand to minister because of the
cloud." (1 Kings viii. 10, 11.)
And in the vision of Ezekiel, i. 4,
it is said, " And I looked, and,
behold, a whirlwind came out of
the north, and a great cloud."
Tehom, "the deep." — This means, ac-

ated. And as light and darkness can only
exist in space, darkness appears to have
been created with it ; whereas light was
subsequently called into existence.

§ This opinion of the Sohar is nearly
seventeen hundred years old, and has lately
been revived by the well-known German
CONVERSATIONS LEXICON, article Fins-
terniss ; and announced as a new theory on
the nature of darkness, which is maintained
to be not merely a negation of light, but an
essential substance called planetary light,
in opposition to solar light, and which arises
from the efforts of the earth to absorb into
itself the antagonist element, air.

80

COMMENTARIES ON* HOLY WRIT.

cording to some commentators, the
chaotic mixture of the elementary
materials before their organiza-
tion.

And the RUACH — Many different opi-
nions are advanced respecting the
meaning of this word. According
to Maimonides, it is applied to six
different significations. 1. Air,
in which sense it is used here. 2.
Wind, as, " The east wind brought
the locusts." (Exodus x. 13.) 3.
Animation, as, " Life departs,
but never returneth." 4. The
immortal soul, "Like the soul,
returns to God." (Ecclesiastesxii.
7.) 5. The emanation of Prophecy ,
as, " When the emanation rested
on them, they prophesied." (Num-
bers xi. 26.) 6. The Divine will,
as, "Who has directed the will
of God ? " (Isaiah xl. 13.) Most
of the other commentators, how-
ever, are dissatisfied with this ex-
position of Maimonides ; some
even think it offensive ; and all
agree, that some of the significa-
tions of the word Ruach are alto-
gether omitted, whilst others are
given which are not correct. The
word has but two principal signi-
fications, Physical and Spiritual.
To the first appertains animation,
arising from the juices of the cor-
poreal system ; air and wind are of
the same class. The second is
altogether spiritual. Thus, He
from whom it emanates is not the
emanation ; and, therefore, pro-
phecy is styled " inspiration."
In the present instance, ruach
cannot be physical, or signify air,
as the elements were not then or-
ganized, nor the air separated. Its
signification is, therefore, altogether
spiritual, and denotes the separate
intelligences, including human souls.
Accordingly our Rabbies, of blessed
memory, say, in Bereshith Rabbn,
"The Ruach of Elohim is the soul
of Adam, the first man." Some of
them add, " It is the sonl of the

Messiah." They name these two,
because with Adam, the first perfec-
tion of man commenced ; and in the
Messiah it will hereafter become re-
stored ; so that these two form the
end and aim of creation.
Hamaim, "the waters." — In this word
are comprised the celestial waters.
And as the spiritual intelligences
are called Esh, " fire," the nobler
materials of the astral world are
called Maiim " water ; " which
two together form Shamaim " the
heavens." Accordingly we find
that the Creator gave the three
divisions of creation three dis-
tinct types. To the Superior he
gave Esh, " fire ; " to the Central,
Maiim, "water," and to the Inferior
Choshech, " earth or darkness."
These three types the prophet
enumerates, when he says, " Who
hath measured the waters in the
hollow of his hand, comprehended
the dust of the earth in a measure,
and directed the will of the Lord ?"
(Isaiah xl. 12.)

Or, "light." — Many are the opinions
entertained respecting the signifi-
cation of this word; and the
cause of the many and various
definitions assigned to it is to be
found in the fact, that the hea-
venly luminaries were not created
- till the fourth day. Some Com-
mentators say, Or means a lumi-
nous essence created by the Deity
and pervading all creation, out of
which the celestial luminaries were
formed. An opinion nearly simi-
lar is expressed in the Talmud :
(Treatise Chayiga, folio 12 :) " The
lights were created on the first
day, but were not fixed in their
spheres till the fourth." *

* These opinions seem to coincide with
the results of modern experience. The
celebrated Dr. Herschell advances the opi-
nion, founded on actual observation, that
the sun is not in itself a luminous body,
but is surrounded by a vast atmosphere of
light.

(To be continued.}

LONDON:— Printed by James Nichols, 4fi, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FIFTH DAY OF CHESVAX, 5595.
FRIDAY, XOVEMBER 7, 1834.

No. 6.

I. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

THE SABBATH.

(Continued from page 71.)

HAVING thus acquainted our read-
ers with the prohibitions * attending
the observance of the Sabbath, \ve
next proceed to consider its positive
commands. These are, " to hallow
the Sabbath," " to sanctify it," " to
keep it holy unto the Lord."
Whilst all worldly labours and avo-
cations are interdicted, the mind is
to devote its energies to the nobler
task of contemplation. The service
of the Great Founder of the Sab-
bath is the only occupation that
befits a day to be kept holy unto the
Lord. Accordingly, religion teaches
the Israelite, that he is, by means
of certain external observances, to
sanctify his inmost soul : It allows
him the enjoyment of all lawful
pleasures and delights, such as better
food and raiment than ordinary, and
all such other joys as may produce
in him the feeling of beatitude pro-
per to the Sabbath. The great les-
sons of his faith on every other day
prescribe abstemiousness, and incul-
cate contempt of worldly enjoy-
ments, in order that the mind — free
from the clogs with which the gross-
ness of earthly desires load it — may
be able to elevate itself unto the
contemplation of the Deity, and of
its own duties. But on the Sabbath,
the same faith varies its instruction,
and teaches him, by the liberal and

* As we have only spoken of the Aboth,
or " principal occupations," and have not
entered into an examination of the Toldoth,
"offsprings," or " branch occupations" de-
rived from the former, it is onr duty to
explain to onr readers that the latter are so
numerous, that we conld not, in this place,
find space for their enumeration, and we
shall, therefore, treat of them under the
bead of JURISPRUDENCE.

grateful enjoyment of those bless-
ings which the Divine bounty has
freely bestowed on man, to effect
the same aim and purpose of exalt-
ing the mind above all worldly cares,
pursuits, and allurements, and to
qualify it for the contemplation of
the Great Source of every good,
with whom and in whom are cen-
tered all our real joys ; that the
partaking, thus, of His bounty, may
lead to that state of beatitude and
tranquillity which alone is befitting
the most sublime of all contempla-
tions. The Sabbath is a type of the
life to come; it is likewise called,
" the day which is altogether Sab-
bath," or repose : Its observance
must, therefore, become, as nearly
as humanity permits, assimilated to
that which it represents ; so that it
may convey to the soul a foretaste
of that happy state. It must not
resemble the ordinary course of
things in this world, where the sen-
tence, " In the sweat of thy face shall
thou eat thy breatl," imposes a tax-
on our wants as on our enjoy-
ments. The Sabbath, on the contrary,
must be free from every care, and
divested of every occupation ; no
present ill or future dread must dis-
turb the soul's delight : And as the
connexion between body and soul is
so very intimate, that pleasures, in
order to be perfect, must be shared
by both, man is directed to enjoy
himself freely, but devoutly. This,
then, is the great distinction of the
Sabbath; other days are passed in
the continual struggle between pas-
sions and duty, — the former striving
to gratify thtir longings, the latter
combating to restrain them : But, on
the Sabbath, this struggle is to cease;

82

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

the mind quiescent, like the blessed
in heaven, is to enjoy perfect felicity,
unalloyed bythe discord of contending
feelings ; because RELIGION, on that
day, steps in as mediator, and com-
bines duty with gratification, in the
command, " Thou shall appoint the
Sabbath for enjoyment." And, as
thus to enjoy, — solely out of grati-
tude to the Divine bounty, and in
honour of the Supreme Founder of
the Sabbath, free from every admix-
ture of luxurious desire, or sinful
sensuality — requires a far greater
and more complete mastery of the
passions than even perfect absti-
nence, the rewards proffered by reli-
gion are commensurate with the dis-
cipline to which he subjects himself.
In this sense the Talmud says,
(Treatise, Sabbath, fol. 118,) " R.
Jochanan said, in the name of R.
Jose, To him who delights in the
Sabbath is given a boundless re-
ward ; for thus saith the Prophet,
' Then shall thou delight thyself in
the Lord. He shall make thee ride
on the high places of the earth, and
feed thee with the inheritance of
Jacob thy father.' (Isaiah Iviii. 14.)
The Prophet says not the inherit-
ance of Abraham ; for to him is only
said, Arise and walk through the
land; (Genesis xiii. 17;) nor yet
the inheritance of Isaac, although to
him is said, / will give unto thy seed
all these lands ; (Genesis xxv. 14 ;)
but the inheritance of Jacob, to
whom it 'is said, Thou shalt extend
thyself with might to the west and to
the east, to the north and to the
south' " Thus he who properly
observes the Sabbath is compared to
Jacob, who is called tDD ty»N, "a
perfect man,"* free from the strug-
gles of the passions, whose desires
are completely incorporated in his
duty, and, like that, devoted to his
God.

Accordingly, the Talmud further
says, (Treatise, Sabbath, fol. 118,
page 2,) " R. Judah saith, Rab
said, Whosoever delights in the Sab-
bath has the desires of his heart
granted to him; as it is written, 'De-
light thyself in the Lord and he
will grant thee the desires of thy
heart.' (Psalm xxxvii. 4.) We should
not have known what this Delight
* Gen. xsv. 27.

thyself means, had not the Prophet
directed us by saying, ' Thou shalt
call the Sabbath a delight.' (Isaiah
Iviii. 13.)." This teaches us, that
whosoever devotes himself to the
proper observance of the Sabbath is
rewarded, not by such of his desires
only being granted as «re conducive
to his good, but by having all his
desires granted, because they are all
pure, incorporated in his duty, and
cannot, therefore, be otherwise than
conducive to his good.

Thus the proper observance of the
Sabbath seems to require particular
piety and purity of heart ; and, ac-
cordingly, the most eminent of our
nation devoted their best energies to
that observance. They considered
it a peculiar boon bestowed on the
Israelites ; tbat, as they are distin-
guished amidst the nations of the
earth by their unfortunate exile and
sufferings, they have received, in
the observance of the Sabbath, and
in the feelings of beatitude that
accompany it, a compensation for all
these sufferings. In this sense the
Talmud says, (Treatise, Sabbath,
fol. 10, page 2,) " To know that I
the Lord sanctify you. (Exodus
xxxi. 13.) The Holy One (blessed
be HE ! ) said to Moses, ' I have a
precious gift in my treasury, its
name is Sabbath; I intend to bestow
it on the Isrealites : Go and acquaint
them with my intention.' " The
meaning is, that the Sabbath was
granted to the Israelites as a distin-
guished mark of Divine favour, the
observance of which is, indeed,
precious, and affords happiness
here, and a reward hereafter ;
and that, whilst every other com-
mand secures a reward to its ob-
servers, the very observance of the
Sabbath, that choice gift out of the
Divine treasury, is in itself a reward.
And truly the Sabbath is at once an
observance and a reward, and af-
fords to the believer a real foretaste
of future happiness. No efforts
desecrate the sanctity of the day ; no
care interrupts its blissful tranquil-
lity; but the faithful enjoy the fruits
of their past labours. " Bake what
ye wish to bake, cook what ye wish
to cook," is the command of Moses
respecting the Sabbath; (Exodus
xvi. 23. ;) and it applies equally to

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOX.

63

that future state of which the Sab-
bath is the type. Close thy prepara-
tions on the Sabbath-eve, that rest
may be thine on the Sabbath. Use
thy stay in this world properly, and
the reward will be thine in a future
state. No believing Jew feels the
pangs of poverty on the Sabbath-
day. Happy, because his religion
teaches him to be so, he envies not
the great ones of the earth. Although
throughout the week penury and
want are his portion, and his unre-
mitting toil barely affords him the
necessary sustenance ; although ab-
stemiousness presides at his scanty
meal, and the faint glimmer of the
solitary taper scarce pierces through
the obscurity of his dwelling ; al-
though, to the last working hour
of the Sabbath-eve, his frame bends
beneath the fatigues of his toil ; yet
abstinence and labour, penury and
weariness, have not been encountered
in vain ; they were endured, in or-
der the better to provide for "the
Sabbath of the Lord ; " they enhance
the hallowed enjoyments of that
day : And though prudence and
economy should oppose their veto
to any departure from his usual
homely frugality, the bountiful pro-
vidence of his God is present to his
mind, and whispers cheerfulness and
confidence to his heart, whilst he
provides lekabod Sabbath, " in ho-
nour of the Sahbath-day."

The toils of the week are ended.
With his ablutions, the last remains
of profane care are washed away.
Dressed in his best attire, he bits
down and prepares his mind for the
sanctity of the coming Sabbath, by
reading that part of Holy Writ
which the custom of his fathers
has apportioned to each succeeding
week. Nightfall approaches as he
closes the sacred volume ; and he
hastens to the Synagogue, there to
join a congregation whose hearts
and minds are, like his own, filled
with gratitude and love. His voice
resounds amidst the cheerful choir,
who, with, the sacred songs of the
Prophet- King, and solemn hymns
of departed saints, hail the coming
of the BRIDE, * the Sabbath, the
plighted troth between the Lord and

his people. When the heartfelt ser-
vice is concluded, the joyous greet-
ing, and the wish of a happy Sab-
Lath have been exchanged between
him and his brethren, he returns
cheerfully to his (no longer gloomy)
home. There the faithful partner
of his griefs and joys has plied her
domestic care. Clean and cheerful
is his room. The table, decked with
its cover of spotless white, is ready ;
the berchoth," blessed bread," beneath
its" double envelope recalls the mira-
culous manna, with which the Deity
fed Israel during forty years of wan-
dering in the desert. A blaze of
lights, consecrated by the fervent
in vocation of the pious matron.fjsheds
its genial influence round the apart-
ment. Every thing is ready to greet
the happy master of this happy
dwelling. He comes, his doors open
to receive him. His children crowd
around him, clean and wholesome,
to receive that blessing which for
countless generations no child ever
failed to implore and to receive from
its parents on the Sabbath-eve. The
cheerful smile of the mother greets
him ; and when he, as he is com-
manded, inquires if her Sabbath-
duties are observed, the conscious
glance of her sparkling eye answers
him more fully than her words, that
her heart too rejoices in these duties,
and hails the Sabbath, the festival of
domestic tranquillity and love. He
&its down to his board ; the goblet
sparkies with the wine over which
the consecrating blessing of the Sab-
bath is pronounced ; its institution
and the repose of the Creator are cele-
brated. The blessed bread is divided,
and a joyous meal awaits his appe-
tite. Haply some wandering stran-
ger is seated at his board, and
makes him thankful to that God

t It is the duty of the Israelite to illn-
miae bis dwelling on the Sabbath as much
as his means permit, and at least to bum
two lights. These it is the special observ-
ance of every housewife to consecrate. The
Austrian Government has known how to
render this religious custom available to finan
cial purposes ; and by loading the Sabbath-
lights of the Jew with a heavy tax in Gal-
licia, (Austrian Poland,) where the Jewish
population is numerous, it raises a conside-
rable annual revenue, not quite as honour-
able to the Government that receives, as to
the Jew who pays it.

M 2

84

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

whose bounty he is' sharing with his
fellow-creatures.* How happy is he !
The very contrast between the ordi-
nary appearance of his abode, and
that which on this occasion it pre-
sents, enhances his happiness. Po-
verty seems banished. Smiling and
Cheerful is all around him. Lights
triumph over the usual gloom. Plenty
has succeeded to penury. Enjoyment
takes the place of abstinence ; the
hearth steams with his savoury food,
fragrant,, with the perfume of that
precious spice, the Sabbath, whose
sympathetic virtues are unknown to
all save to its observers. He ends
his meal, and prepares, amidst joy-
ous songs of praise, to thank the
Giver of all good ; and his heart* re-
sponds to his voice as he says, "Thou
shalt eat and be satisfied, and shalt
bless the Lord thy God ! "

Approach, ye rich ! who think that
happiness can only be companion to
wealth, that ostentation alone confers
enjoyment : Ye, who, tutored in the
school of presumption, make your

(To be continued.)

faith subordinate to your reason; who
break the Sabbath, because your
boasted wealth, your wide- spread
commerce, your loans and securities,
demand your care : — Approach the
humble board of this, by you disre-
garded, man ; and learn there that
the happiness of wealth and of power
is far eclipsed by that of religion.
For what those impart is adventi-
tious, what this bestows is real;
those depend on circumstances and
fluctuations, whilst this depends but
on itself ; those are accompanied by
care, embittered by anxiety, whilst
this spreads tranquillity around, and
cheers the mind with peace. O,
that ye would approach and let your
boasted reason profit by the lesson
you here behold ! Then it would be
impressed on your minds, that,
whilst wealth and power forsake you
at the tomb, RELIGION there receives
you, and with its consoling radiance
illumines the road to another and a
better world.

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Scpher Ikkarim .- "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES."
(Continued from page 78 J

DIVISION II. — CHAPTER I.

IT is an old subject of controversy
between philosophers, whether the
existence of animate beings is acci-
dental, or owing to a quality pro-
perly belonging to them : But the
expression, existence, which we ap-
ply to the Deity, cannot possibly
come under either of these defini-
tions. It cannot be accidental ; as
He (blessed be HE !) is not susceptible
of accidents, as we shall hereafter
demonstrate, nor can it be any qua-
lity properly belonging to him, other
than his own essence ; as, if it were
such, the Divine Being would be
composed of essence and quality,
which cannot be the case. Conse-
quently, the term," existence," as ap-
plied to the Deity, does not denote
any other thing or quality than his

* Hospitality, at all times a sacred and
pleasing duty to the Israelite, is doubly so
on the Sabbath aiid feast days.

essence alone, which is utterly hid-
den from, and altogether inconceiv-
able to, us. The desire to become
acquainted with this essence, led to
the prayer of our teacher, Moses, of
blessed memory ; when he said,
" Shew me, I beseech thee, thy
glory !" (Exodus xxxiii. 18. ;) but
the reply he received was, " Thou
canst not see my face : For man
cannot behold me and live ; " which
latter expression, as our Rabbies
expounded, denotes that even the
angelic beings, called the living ones,
who surround the throne of glory,
cannot contemplate his essence ;
which,therefore, is known but to him-
self alone. Such being the case,
the question may arise, How can
belief in the existence of the Deity
be made an essential principle of
Divine laws, when no one but him-
self can conceive that existence ?
Our answer is : That this existence
of the Deity, on which the Divine
laws are founded, and altogether

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OK THE BABBIES.

85

dependent, may be conceived by
means of the different beings which
emanate from Him, their great First
Cause and Origin ; and, from the
perfection of these His works, man
may, and is permitted to, form an
opinion of the infinitely greater per-
fection of the Deity, which, by any
other means, would be alike un-
utterable to the tongue of man as
incomprehensible to his mind. In
this sense, David says, " Bless the
Lord, O my soul ! O Lord, my God,
thou art exceeding great : Thou art
clothed with majesty and glory!"
(Psalm civ. 1.) His meaning is: Thou,
O Lord my God, in thy essence and
perfection art so exceedingly great,
that my mind cannot conceive thee.
But the works which emanate from
thee are the reflection of thy ma-
jesty and glory ; and, as it were,
the robe in which thy incomprehen-
sible self is enveloped, and from
them we know thy existence and
perfection. In pursuance of this
idea, David no longer attempts to
speak of the Deity, but begins to
enumerate his works. Thus the per-
fection of the artist is known by his
productions ; not only when he
works in a noble material, but like-
wise when in a baser one ; nor is he
less to be admired when his master-
ly skill bestows its impression on
the commonest metal, than if the
same art had been employed on
gold. Such is likewise the opinion
of Aristotle, in his work. Animal
Hist., (lib. xi.,) where he blames the
ancient sages who thought it be-
neath their dignity to treat of such
animate beings as spring from effer-
vescence or putrefaction, but con-
fined their researches and observa-
tions to such only as are produced by
other living animals. Aristotle, on
the contrary, maintains, and very
justly, that these offsprings of pu-
trefaction possess the same claims
on our attention as those of a nobler
origin ; not on their own account
certainly, but on account of the
wondrous powers of the Deity,
who called them into existence as
he did all his other creatures.
Therefore, David, expressing his
admiration of the Divine works,
says, " Thou coverest thyself with
light as a garment." (Psalm civ. 2.)

By this he intends to express the
spiritual intelligences, which, in the
language of Holy Writ, are called
light or fire. "Thou spreadest the
heavens like a curtain ! " This de-
notes the astral world : And accord-
ingly he enumerates the glorious
and wonderful works of the starry
sky, that are visible far above us,
and the matchless order of nature,
the chain of created beings, and of
their preservation. David then pro-
ceeds to mention the lunar and pla-
netary influences as extending to,
and benefiting, the inferior creation,
to which he next directs his atten-
tion in the words, " O Lord, how
manifold are thy works ; in wisdom
thou hast made them all : The earth
is full of thy riches ! The great and
wide sea, wherein are things creep-
ing innumerable ; both small and
great animals. There go the ships ;
there is that Leviathan, which thou
hast created to gambol therein. All
these look up to thee that thou
mayest grant their food in due sea-
son. Thou givest them ! they gather.
Thou openest thy hand ; they are
satisfied with good. Thou hidest
thy countenance ; they are terror-
struck. Thou withdrawest their
breath ; they cease to live, and re-
turn to their dust. Thou sendest
forth thy spirit ; they are created
again, and thou renewest the face
of the earth ! " (Psalm civ. 24 — 30.)
Large or small, they are alike his
works ; share alike his bounty ;
his paternal providence extends to
the reptile as to the Leviathan ; and
even to those offsprings of putrefac-
tion, which, as Aristotle says, hu-
man pride once thought beneath its
notice. This fulness of creation,
the happiness assigned to each crea-
ture, and the constant succession of
the generations of each species, in-
duced the sacred singer to exclaim,
" The glory of God endureth for ever.
He rejoiceth in all his works !" (Psalm
civ. 31.) In the same sense our Rab-
bies say in the Perek Shira,* " What
do reptiles say ? (in praise of the
Deity) ' The glory of God endureth

• The Rabbies say that every created being
offers its homage to its Creator, and they
allegorically assign to each a verse of Holv
Writ, analogous to its nature and instincts,

86

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

for ever. He rejoiceth in all his
works." The meaning of the Rab-
bles is, when man sees these the
meanest of animate beings, and re-
flects on the wondrous powers of
the Deity, — which are not more ex-
erted in the creation of the huge
and sagacious elephant, than in the
scarce- visible maggot, — he exclaims,
" The glory of God is fully and in-
imitably displayed even in these ;
and though neither, as individuals
nor as a species, their purpose is
other than ephemeral, neverthe-
less, even their short-lived existence
is not barren of joys." Thus, then,
we see that David, in an ode which
opens with a solemn invocation to
his soul to praise the Lord, at once
gives up the attempt to define His
existence abstractedly, and confines
himself to a recital of His won-
drous works ; as these only make
known to us the Divine existence.
And being thus known to us, as
fully as our powers of conception will
permit, we say, in reply to the ques-
tion started at the beginning of this
chapter, that it is on the strength of
this knowledge, derived from the
proper contemplation of the Divine
works, that we can, and do, consider
the existence of the Deity as an
essential principle of the Divine laws,
although we are not acquainted
with, and cannot conceive or define,
the essence of that existence.

CHAPTER II.

ALL active workers or agents, that
are known to us, belong to one of
two classes: 1. They either work
from innate and absolute necessity,
without any volition of their own.
Or, 2. They act according to their
own will and intention. Of the first
kind are the merely physical agents,
such as fire which warms, or light
which shines ; not according to any
will or intention of its own, but from
the innate necessity of exercising its
agency whenever an object proper
to that exercise is exposed to it,
like fuel to fire ; nor is it in the
power of either to withhold or to
alter the effects of its agency. This
limitation it is, however, impossible
to apply to Deity ; of whom it can-
not be supposed that he acts from
the constraint of inherent necessity,

or otherwise than with free-will and
intention. We must, consequently,
assume that the Deity, like all other
intellectual agents, acts freely and
according to his own volition ; but
this assumption has likewise its dif-
ficulties— as the word will or voli-
tion can only be applied to him who
effects a something at a certain time,
which previously he had not the will
to effect — and could not be called
volition, if he never could alter his
will. Therefore he only can be con-
sidered as possessing volition who
has the power to change his will ac-
cording to the inducement which
causes him so to do : Whereas it is
impossible that absolute unity should
be operating, and likewise operated
on, by an inducement. Of the Deity
it cannot be said, that he is subject
to a mutation of purpose, or to any
inducement, external or internal, as
otherwise he would be a composite
of that by which lie operates and
that which operates on him. And as
this cannot be assumed, the conse-
quent conclusion is, that he does
not operate according to will, as
volition pre-supposes a change of
purpose. Moreover, whoever wills
a thing has a want of that thing,
and desires at a certain time to have
or to do that which previously he
did not desire to have or to do. In
like manner he who chooses one
thing out of two, because he gives
it the preference, has a want of the
object of his choice before he
chooses. As thus we cannot main-
tain, that the Deity acts either from
inherent necessity or according
to volition, the question still is, Of
what kind is the agency or working
which we ascribe to him ? We have
somewhere met with the assertion,
That the Deity (blessed be He !)
works with will and intention; but
that, nevertheless, volition and
choice in him are not recent, but
have been from all eternity ; so that,
though creation took place at a cer-
tain time, it was not in consequence
of any newly-arisen volition, but in
conformity to the eternal will of the
Deity, and at such precise time as
that will decreed. Some of our
Rabbles appear to have entertained
a similar opinion with respect to
creation, when they say, " God

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

made a compact with the works of
creation. With the sea, that it was
in after-times to divide to permit the
passage of the Israelites. With the
fire, that it was not to consume Han-
aniah, Mishael, and Azariah," &c.
By this it would appear that they
intend to say, it is incorrect to sup-
pose that any miracle takes place in
consequence of a will newly adopted
by the Deity ; but that it results from
his general purpose, and the determi-
nation from all eternity that at a certain
time such an event was to take place.
But on mature reflection, we think
such cannot have been the mean-
ing of our Rabbies, for that opinion
cannot be sustained : The expression
eternal will is logically incorrect ; for
whatever is eternal is of inherent ne-
cessity, absolute and unconditional,
and no longer will or volition, which
is freely adopted. The question,
therefore, remains for us to decide :
At the time when creation took place
or any miracle was effected, was it
in the Divine power to have deferred
either of these events or not ? If
we assume that He then had this
power, the expression eternal will at
ones becomes void of meaning ; be-
cause his not deferring it, was not
owing to his will being eternal, but
to the fact that, at the time, his will
was to do that which, had jhis will
been different, he had it in his power
not to do or defer. But if, on the
contrary, we deny Him that power,
then He no longer .acts according to
his own volition, but from an in-
herent necessity ; because, had he
actually been minded to defer this
certain event, at the time it occurred,
he could not. This would extend to
all his works and wonders, which
would be predetermined from all
eternity, and could neither be de-
layed, altered, nor controlled. But
if such were the case, man would be
more perfect in his sphere of opera-
tion than the Deity is in his ; as the
free-will of the former gives him
the power to do a thing or the con-
trary ; for instance, to make a table
black or white, as and when he likes ;
whereas the Deity would be limited
to one certain course, according
to the decree of his eternal will.
Far be it from us to entertain
any such idea. Omnipotence knows

no limit, and is fettered by no re-
straint.

CHAPTER v.

THE definition of human will is,
the arising, in the worker or agent,
of a something which induces him.
to do what, previous to the existence
of the inducement, he had not the
will to do. But those philosophers
spoke most unworthily of the Deity,
who, on the strength of that defini-
tion, asserted it to be impossible that
He, (blessed be HE !) "should act ac-
cording to will or intention. Such
an assertion completely rejects all
Divine laws; for if He acts not ac-
cording to his own free-will, it is
impossible that he should at any one
time act more directly or decidedly
than at all other times. This would
lead us to believe in the eternity of
matter and of the universe, and to
deny all the miracles in the Law of
Moses. Prayers would avail nothing
in the hour of need ; the practice of
piety and penitence (would be with-
out aim or object ; and whatever is
commanded or recommended by the
law, becomes worthless and super-
fluous. But, in addition to these
frightful consequences, such an as-
sertion is contrary to the researches
and dictates of reason : as innate
impressions tell iis that the Deity
must be perfect, and therefore free
from every thing derogatory to that
perfection. Accordingly the Pro-
phet says, " His eyes are too pure
to see wrong ; he cannot behold
evil." (Habak. i. 13.) It is impos-
sible to ascribe to Him any im-
perfection. But he that acts with-
out volition is imperfect, as he
is not a free agent. And though we
say, " The fire burns, the light illu-
minates, the sword kills," (as if they
did it of their own accord,) such ex-
pressions are only figures of speech ;
for he only is in reality an agent who
acts according to his own free-will,
and to him only can the expres-
sion " to act " be properly applied ;
whereas the fire, the light, the
sword, are not free agents, but obey
the will of another who works in
them, and whose instruments they
are. This is illustrated by the Pro-
phet when he says, " Woe ! Assur,
rod of mine anger ! the staff in his

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

hand is mine indignation. I will
send him against a hypocritical peo-
ple, and against the people of my
wrath will I give him a charge."
" Howbeit he considers it not so ;
neither does his heart think it ; but
he saith, By the strength of my hand
have I done it, and by my wisdom,
for I am prudent ! Shall the axe
boast of itself against him that
heweth therewith ? Should the saw
magnify itself against him that useth
it ? " &c. (Isaiah v. 15.) The differ-
ence here pointed out between the
Deity and his rod the Assyrian, is
that of the real agent and his instru-
ment ; for, whatever acts not by its
own will, is but an instrument. And,
therefore, such an imputation upon
the Deity is blasphemy, because it
degrades his power below that of
finite humanity ; as man has a
power of free agency which the
Deity, according to this hypothesis,
has not. .Such sophisms cannot
for an instant be entertained ; nor
can the decided conclusion be any
other than that He acts according to
his own free-will and intention.
But, in order to solve the difficulties
of the preceding chapters, we say :
If his will and choice be like that of
man ; namely, that volition in him
is produced, as it is in man, by a
change of purpose or desire ; such
difficulties would appear well-found-
ed : But as his choice and will bear
no relation whatever to that of man ;
all difficulties raised on the supposi-
tion of their similarity, and all the
conclusions thence deduced, are to-
tally unfounded. His will is the result
of His omniscience and of his omni-
potence; and as these are infinite, and
not like human science and potency,
his will is consequently not like ours.
And as his omniscience and omnipo-
tence are not independent of His
existence, but essential to Him ;
these, like His essence, are so
completely hidden from and in-
comprehensible to us, that, when we
say, " He is omnicient,"our meaning
merely is, that He is not ignorant of
any thing ; and when we speak of
his volition, our meaning is only
that His actions do not result from
absolute and inherent necessity.
Thus all our definitions are negative ;
but we cannot conceive either His

wisdom or His will, so as to arrive at
any positive definition. And if the
question should still be persisted in,
" How does He become induced to
changeHis non- volition for volition?"
we may retort, by asking another
question : How comes His knowledge
to alter from something which is not
yet, to a something which actually
is ?" As, for instance, He knows any
particular man before he was born,
and he knows him afterwards, dur-
ing his actual existence. This would
imply an altered state of knowledge
corresponding to the transition from
what is not yet to what actually is.
There are no means of solving this,
except by saying, that His know-
ledge is not like unto ours, which
arises with and from the events
around us. For, should we not say
this, we fall into the error of imput-
ing to the Deity limited faculties, or
of maintaining, that he does not
know his creatures or the passing
events, individually, but generally ;
and that he did not know Moses,
for instance, during his existence,
better than before or after . And
were we to maintain that his know-
ledge undergoes no change, we must
likewise maintain that He knows not
things that are contrary to each
other. But it is more consonant to
reason to say, that His knowledge
resembles His wisdom. And as the
latter is essential to Him, in like
manner His knowledge is not inde-
pendent of His existence, but is part
of His essence, and as such completely
hidden and inconceivable to us.
Thus, His knowledge, His will, and
His power are alike incomprehensi-
ble ; we cannot define them ; nor
do we know any thing respecting
Him but that He acts, knows, it
wise and perfect, in a most wondei\
ful manner. Therefore, knowing,
as we do, that a free and perfect
agent acts by volition, we say, He
acts in like manner ; and, though we
have not the capacity to comprehend
how or of what kind are His know-
ledge and will, yet we do know the
volition is not, with Him, the result
of altered intentions, because this
would be an imperfection. In this
sense the Prophet says, " For my
thoughts are not as your thoughts,
nor your ways like unto mine. For

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

as the heavens are higher than the
earth so are my ways higher than
your ways, aad my thoughts than
yours. For as the rain cometh down
and the snow from heaven, and re-
turnethnot thither, but watereth the
earth, and itaketh it bring forth and
bud, that it may give seed to the
sower and bread to the eater ; so
shall my word be that goeth forth
out of my mouth ; it shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accom-
plish that which I please, and it
shall prosper whereto I send it."
(Isaiah liii. 8 — 11.) The contem-
poraries of the Prophet said, " How is
it possible that the Deity should
decree any resolution, and after-
wards be induced by human peni-
tence to alter his will into non-voli-
tion ? " And they came to the
conclusion, that whatever happens
is the result of inherent necessity.
The Prophet, therefore, says, "Do
penance .'," For His ways are not
like yours ; for as there is no com-
parison between the relative height
of the heavens and that of the earth,
so, likewise, there is none between
His ways and yours. " As the rain
cometh down, and the snow, from
heaven, and returneth not," so, like-
wise, the word of God does not devi-
ate from its purpose; and, although
he permits penance to interpose with
the doom pronounced, yet there is
no change of intention.

CHAPTER IV.

WE have already explained in our
first division, that the law of Moses
commences with the history of the
creation, in order to teach us the
existence of the Creator, as what is
there said, and the process of crea-
tion, from possible into actual being,
is a proof of the existence of the
agent by whom it was produced ;
and its being gradually called into
being on six successive days, proves
that it took place, according to plan
and intention, at stated times, in
conformity to the decree of his wis-
dom. And though he might have
completed creation at once, he ne-
vertheless employed a certain space
of time for that purpose ; which is
an evident proof that he created with
a particular design. In this Sense
our Rabbies, of blessed memorv,

said, CTreatise, Aboth, fol. 2,) "The
world was created through ton say-
ings of the Deity. Why was it not
created by means of one command
only ? To punish evil-doers who
pervert the order of the world that
was created by these ten sayings,
and to reward the righteous who
confirm that order." Their mean-
ing is, that, as the creation took place
at successive times, and by means of
successive command?, it is a proof
that it was intentional ; and, there-
fore, punishments may await the
evil-doer, and rewards the righteous,
which could not be the case if the
world be not created according to
the free-will and intention of God.
This order of gradual creation, at
successive times, likewise proves the
natural seniority which some creatures
have before others ; so that each
was called into being in due time, to
assign to it the place due to its na-
ture in the universal scale of per-
fection, and therefore it is said of
each of them, " And God saw it was
good." By this process of creation
from possible into actual being, a
rational proof of the existence of the
Deity may be deduced in the follow-
ing manner : We see objects capa-
ble of existence proceeding into actu-
al being ; but this process absolutely
requires an external influence to give
it activity, for were such influence
internal and no obstacle existing
to impede the process, then these
objects would not at any time have
been in a state merely capable of ex-
istence, but would always have en-
joyed actual being. Should we say,
that the influence was internal, but
that some obstacle impeded the pro-
cess which had to be removed : In
that case, whatever removed such
obstacle is the actual cause of the
process from capability of existence
into actual being. And we go on to
say, this internal influence, which
was the cause of possible existence
and likewise of actual being, either
was an obstacle in the way of its
o-.vn operation; or the relation be-
tween the producer and the produced
was defective, and, as soon as that
defect was remedied, its power of
production became" active. But each
of these hypotheses requires the aid
either of a remover of the obstacle

90

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

or of the curer of the defect ; nor can
we cease our researches until at last
we arrive at the real and fundamen-
tal Cause of all existence, in whom
there is nothing merely capable of
being, but every thing actually is.
For if any thing in Him were merely
capable of being, that would imply
doubt, or a possibility of what may
or may not be, which again would
require an external influence to give
prevalence to one possibility above
the other. And in that case this last
influence would be that real and fun-
damental Cause of universal exist-
ence, in whom there is nothing
merely capable of being, who can
meet with no obstacle, but whose
simple will accomplishes all his
purposes, which are absolute ; and
it would be wrong to suppose that
first and fundamental Cause to be
material, as all matter has an exist-
ence merely conditional or possible ;
whereas the existence of this First
Cause is inherent, absolute, and un-
conditional. It is likewise clear that
He is essentially distinct from all
his productions. And this Being, —
thus essentially distinct, within
whom there is nothing doubtful or
merely possible, but who promotes
every thing from the mere capability
of existence into actual being, — He
it is whom we call GOD. (Blessed be
He !) From these premises it is
further proved that He is one ; as
whatever is essentially absolute can-
not have number applied to it ; for
the producer must be one, ^ whilst
every other number can be applied
only to what is produced. The Be-
ing, then, of whom we speak, and
in whom there is nothing merely
possible, He is the absolute producer
and not produced ; for, the existence
of whatever is produced is condi-
tional, and therefore merely possi-
ble, as it depends on the act of an-
other. It is moreover proved, that
He is independent of time ; for were
He thus dependent, his existence
would merely be that of any given
or certain period, and, consequently,
conditional or possible. And lastly,
it is proved that He is perfect ; for
if he were not so, he could not pro-
duce that perfection which is observ-
able throughout all his works, as it
is said in Holy Writ, " The Rock !

whose work is perfect " (Deutero-
nomy xxxii. 4.) This is the proof
of the existence of the Deity, which
reason deduces from the history of
creation, as related in the law of
Moses.

CHAPTER V.

THIS essential principle, the ex-
istence of the Deity, has, however,
other and further reasonable proofs,
which Rabenu Moses bar Maimon
adduces in the second volume of his
work, More Nebochim, " the Guide
of the Perplexed," which we here
intend concisely to investigate, in
order to point out to the attention
of the searcher such of the proofs
as are positive, and such others as
are questionable One of them rests
on an axiom of Aristotle, namely :
"If we find a something composed
of two substances, and we likewise
find one of these substances separ-
ately, and not in a composite state,
it is certain that we must likewise
find the other in a similar state of
separation ; for if their being com-
posite in matter and form is abso-
lutely requisite to their existence,
neither of them could be found in a
separate state, and severed from the
other. The separate existence of
one of these substances is conse-
quently a satisfactory proof, that
composition is not indispensable to
its existence ; and that if one of
them can and does exist by itself,
so must likewise the other. Thus,
if we meet with a condiment com-
posed of honey and vinegar, (sweet
and sour,) and subsequently by any
means we meet with one of these
substances, say honey, by itself, we
are certain that we must likewise
find the second, vinegar, by itself.
Ergo, we find things that impart
and receive motion at the same time.
We likewise find a something that
receives motion, but does not im-
part it : It is, therefore, a necessary
consequence that there must like-
be a some One who imparts motion,
but does not receive it : And this
some One must be the great First
Cause. But this proof is not ten-
able, as the conclusion does not ne-
cessarily follow, because we find one
of two composites by itself, that we
must likewise find the other in a
similar state; for we find man a

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

91

being composed of animate and in-
tellectual parts. We find other be-
ings possessed of animate, but not
of intellectual, parts ; but we can-
not find beings who are intellectual
but not animate, unless it should be
maintained that angels are such.
But though they are intellectual, and
have nothing material, are not
nourished, and are impalpable, (which
three are the tokens of animation,)
nevertheless, these angelic beings
are animate. And, moreover, we
can say, that though we find beings
composed of body and life, or veget-
ables composed of stem and growth,
we may find the body without life,
or the stem without growth, but we
cannot find life distinct from the
body, or growth distinct from the
stem ; consequently, the axiom of
Aristotle is not tenable or conclu-
sive. Accordingly, Maimonides him-
self did not rely on this as a suffi-
cient proof of the existence of the
Deity, but adduced another which
is truly incontrovertible. He says,
"All beings are unavoidably subject
to one of three cases : Either they are
all not produced and not mortal, or all
are produced and mortal, or a part of
them are produced and mortal, and
another part not." The evidence of
our senses proves it to be untrue,
that all beings are unproduced and
immortal, as we see many become
produced and many others perish.
The evidence of our reason proves
that it cannot be true that all beings
are produced and mortal ; for if it is
possible that all beings can perish,
it may become possible that all do
perish, without leaving even one to
maintain existence against non-ex-
istence ; which we are convinced
cannot be the case. The necessary
consequence, therefore, is, that there
must be some Being not produced,
or within the remotest degree of
possible mortality, in order that He
may maintain [the continuation and
existence of such beings as are pro-
duced and perishable, against non-
existence. The existence of this
unproduced and imperishable Being
must be absolute, not merely possi-
ble and conditional ; and his being
thus absolute is inherent, and there-
fore he is God, (blessed be He !) who
giveth existence to all beings that

are produced and mortal ; without
Him there is nothing in existence,
whilst He himself is neither pro-
duced nor perishable. This last
proof adduced by Maimonides is
perfect and incontrovertible, and is
therein distinguished from the first
proof which we adduced, that it
does not, like it, demonstrate the
existence of the Deity from his
works only, but from his own es-
sential being. It further proves
that He is not material, for we have
already demonstrated that His ex-
istence js inherent, absolute, and
unconditional ; whereas all matter
is composite, and, therefore, merely
possible and conditional, — as the
composition, which is the cause of
its existence, is altogether dependent
on the union of parts, and conse-

Juently on an external influence.
t further proves the absolute unity
of God ; as it is not possible there
should be two beings, having equally
the same absolute existence without
composition ; for there would be in
each one that which constitutes ab-
solute and inherent existence, and
which alone is the cause that separ-
ates Him from whatever is external
to Him ; and as this cau«e of separa-
tion wotfld not exist between these
two equal beings, the Deity [would
be composed of two parts, which,
as we before demonstrated, cannot
be possible. Moreover, it proves
that He is independent of time ; as
whatever is dependent there
subject to alteration ; to effect which
there must be an acting cause ;
whereas the Being, whose existence
is inherent, absolute, and uncondi-
tional, is not subject to any external
cause, and cannot at once be the alterer
and altered ; as, were such the case,
there would be in Him two particles :
1. Active, causing, and, 2. Passive,
undergoing, the alteration ; which
again would render him composite ;
and that, as we repeatedly have
stated, He cannot be. AnJ, lastly,
it is proved that he must be perfect,
as otherwise he would require some
aid to supply his deficiencies ; and
as he would thus be dependent on an
external influence, which, from that •
very dependence, is superior to him,
His existence would no longer be
inherent, absolute, and uncondition-

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

al. These two proofs, deduced from tory, as not to permit any doubt to
His works and from His own essen- remain respecting the existence of
tial being, are so full and satisfac- the Deity.

(To be continued.)

III. CO MMENT ARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

(Continued from page 80j »

"la the beginning God created the heavens yisn nui and the earth. And the earth
was irm, inn, shapeless and heterogeneous ; TtTn, and darkness was on the sur-
face of the ninn deep. And the rm Ruaeh of Elohim hovered over the face
of D'on the waters. And God said, Let there he "\W light : And there was
light. And God saw the light that it was good : And God divided the light from
the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And it was evening and it was morning one day." (Genesis i. 1 — 5.)

SOME commentators, ^connecting
this light, with the darkness, of
which we spoke before, say, that
it is not the light which meets
the human eye, and which, however
subtile, is physical ; but they assert,
that it signifies a peculiar and spi-
ritual light, which is often called
fire, by the Prophets : as in the
vision of Ezekiel, i. 4 : "A fire, in-
folding itself, and a radiance about
it; " before which, when he saw it,
lie prostrated himself. This is the
tire before which Moses hid his face.
(Exodus iii. 4.) This it was which
shone on mount Sinai, when " the
Lord descended upon it in fire."
(Exodus xix. 18.) This likewise
shed its radiance on the face of
Moses. (Exodus xxiv. 2Q.) This fire
consumed Nadab and Abihu, when
there went out fire from before the
Lord and devoured them : and they
died before the Lord." (Leviticus x.
2.) And it is the same " fire " which
" came out from the Lord, and con-
sumed upon the altar the burnt of-
fering and the fat." (Leviticus ix. 24.)
This fire is likewise called " the
glory of the Lord;" as, in Exodus
xi. 34 : " And the glory of the Lord

filled the Tabernacle." And " the
glory of God," which is so frequently
mentioned as appearing at the taber-
nacle, and which filled the temple,
(1 King viii. 10,) is this same fire,
which likewise descended from hea-
ven at the call of Elijah on Mount
Carmel, (2 Kings i. 1-15,) and of
which Daniel speaks as " a fiery
stream, which issued and came forth
from Him." (vii. 10.)

This superior light is the first
emanation of the Deity ; as is stated
in Schemoth Rabbet, chapter xv :
" Moses wrote many things ob-
scurely which David subsequently
expounded. Thus Moses tells us,
that the light was Called into exist-
ence after the creation of heaven
and earth. (Genesis i. 1-3.) But
David expounds this to us in the
hundred and fourth Psalm, verse 2 :
' He girds himself with light as
with a robe, and spreads the heavens
as a carpet.' Thus light seems to have
preceded heaven and earth. This is
the superior light of which ' God saw
it was good ; ' and which is the light
reserved for the righteous in the
world to come."

Akedath Itzchack : " LIGATION OF ISAAC."
BY RABBI ISAAC BEN MOSES. (ARAM A.)

And Gjd said — In the Treatise
Aboth,(cap. 5,) we find "the world was
created by ten sayings of the Deity.
Why was it not created by one sin-
gle saying ? The answer is, It was
created by ten sayings, in order that
evil-doers may be punished who per-
vert the order of the world that was
thus created, and to reward the

righteous who confirm that order."
The meaning of the Medrash is,
" that each saying of the Deity, with
that part of creation which it called
into existence, shows the gradual
progress of that work ; and the
question therefore is, Why was that
work not completed at once ? so
that instead of being guided by the

COMMENTARIES ON* HOLY WIIIT.

93

order then laid down, which we call
nature, the continuation of the world
might be equally wonderful as at its
creation ; and if at any time some-
thing beyond the ordinary supplies
of nature were required, either by
the world generally, or any part
thereof, it might at once be found
without any other previous cause,
except the instantaneous will of the
Creator." Thus the general and
constant order of universal govern-
ment would be under the control
of a better nature, or of a special
and individual providence, such as
protected the Israelites during their
forty years' wanderings in the desert,
where their wants were supplied in a
supernatural manner ; as it is said :
" Your clothes are not waxen old
upon you, and your feet are not
swelled : Ye have not eaten bread,
neither have ye drunk wine or strong
drink." (Deut. xxix. 5, 6.) When
they hungered, their food rained down
from heaven ; when they thirsted,
their drink sprung from out of the
naked rock : the cloud of glory
shaded them against the noontide
heat of the burning desert : And
thus a special providence watched
over and supplied their wants. That
which was possible to the Deity during
a certain space of time and towards
a particular people, it is equally in
his power to bestowal all times, and
on all the nations of the earth. It
is, therefore, not the want of power
which induces the Deity to withhold
the continual exercise of this miracu-
lous providence j but it is the fact,
that such exercise would put an end
to merit and demerit, by depriving
man's free-will of its scope and acti-
vity, and, consequently, precluding
him from deserving either the reward
or the punishment of a future state ;
which alone is, to man, the real end
and aim of creation. If this super-
natural supply were accidental, man
would fall into the snares of Atheism ;
for he would no longer see the rela-
tion between cause am1* effect, and
would therefore eventually deny the
existence of the great First Cause.
Should, on the contrary, a special
providence watch over the wants of
every individual, be he righteous or
wicked, God-fearing or not, so that
each, without any distinction, would

be supplied with whatever he wants,
then there would be no incentive to
the practice of piety and virtue, as
this universal equality would lead
men to suppose, either that the
Deity makes no difference between
the good and the bad ; or that He
comprises all mankind in one general
glance ; and this_belief would induce
them to give an unbridled play to
their evil passions, as they would
say, "It is useless to serve God ;
what "avails it to observe his sta-
tutes ? " Thus the Prophet said .-
" O Lord, why hast thou made us
to err from thy ways, and hardened
our hearts against thy fear ? " (Isaiah
Ixiii. 17.) But if the special and
miraculous providence of God be
confined to the righteous only, so
that their wants are supernaturally
supplied ; whilst his countenance is
altogether withdrawn from the
wicked ; the forced consequence
would be, that all would be righteous,
but without any merit, as such right-
eousness would flow from the desire
to enjoy the supplies and happiness
that the wicked are deprived of.
Thus in every case, the rewards of
therighteous and the punishments of
the wicked would cease, and man
would be as the Prophet says, " Thou
hast made men like the fishes of the
sea, like reptiles that have no ruler."
(Habak. i. 14.) Nor would human
reason then be employed in the
effort to search into the existence of
the Deity and to contemplate his
perfections, by gradually ascending
in the scale of creation until the
mind rests on Him the great First
Cause ; * which contemplation and
preparation enlighten the eye of
the mentally blind, and bestow on
us the supreme happiness of which,
in our present state, we are capable.
But as [the creation of the world
was the result of natural gradation,
founded on the ten separate com-
mands of God, and in a succession
of days, denoting the previous and
the subsequent ; and as all his works
have respectively received the matter
and form appropriate to their na-
ture, so that one may result from
another, and be alike cause and ef-
fect; this alone shows the justice
of punishment to evil-doers, who per-
ceive the wondrous order of nature

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

laid down by these ten sayings
of the Deity, and the graduated
scale of creation; but nevertheless
incline not] their hearts to contem-
plate the same, and to confess his
Godhead, although the gates of con-
templation were most widely opened
to them, as it is said, " Who knows
not by all this that the hand of the
Lord has done it?" (Jobxii. 9.) And
from the circumstance of the course
of nature being laid down and fixed,
man should be impressed with the
reflection, that; although sometimes
good is enjoyed without merit, or
evil endured without guilt, such ap-
parent incongruity is not to be attri-
buted to the Deity, but to the ordi-
nary results of [the course of nature.
Such is the reasoning of the wise
Solomon, of blessed memory, when
he says, " Because sentence against
an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of
men is fully set in them to do evil.
Though a sinner do evil an hundred
times, and his days be prolonged,
yet surely I know that it shall be
well with them that fear God, be-
cause they fear before Him. But it
shall not be well with the wicked ;
neither shall he prolong his days,
which are as a shadow, because he
feareth not God." (Ecclesiastes viii.
13.) His meaning is, that when the
wicked prospers, and his punish-
ment does not speedily visit him,
men may think, that his protracted
welfare is the result of his wicked-
ness ; and therefore [.they too set
their hearts on doing the like evil,
in order that the like prosperity may
fall to ^their share. Solomon, there-
fore, cautions mankind that such
reasoning is erroneous ; that though
the evil-doer may escape his punish-
ment for a time, either through ex-
treme caution, or because his sins
have not yet.acquired their full mea-
sure, so as to take place of the natu-
raVcauses which, till then, occasioned
and preserved his prosperity, never-
theless his welfare is by no means
the consequence or recom pence of
his evil deeds. But with the righte-
ous the case is different : Theirjpros-
perity is not merely owing to the na-
tural course of events, but is likewise
granted to them, and remains with
them, because they fear the Lord ;

whilst, though the wicked may enjoy
the prosperity which accidentally
falls to his lot, it is never bestowed
on him, and remains not with him
after its accidental cause has ceased,
because he fears not the Lord. Ac-
cordingly the wicked who prosper,
and do not reflect that repeated sins
may fill the measure of their trans-
gressions, until it takes place of the
natural causes, which, till then, had
occasioned and preserved their pros-
perity, are doubly culpable, because
they pervert that order of creation
which the ten sayings of the Deity
laid down ; and which, though they
could perceive, they inclined not their
hearts to observe. But the righteous,
whose contemplations ascend up the
scale of creation through all its de-
grees, until they confess and receive
the Deity, obtain the reward due to
their piety, in abstaining from tempo-
poral and imaginary advantages
and enjoyments, although they know
that their transgressions might not
be visited with immediate punish-
ment, [and that the ordinary course
of nature may, for a time, extend its
protection to them, as it does to the
sinner. They, however, rely not on
this precarious impunity, but have
the fear of their Creator before their
eyes, and obedience to His laws in
their heart. If they suffer, and mis-
fortunes befall them, they know that
their adversity is not decreed as a
punishment, but that it results from
the ordinary course of their nature ;
and that the measure of their merits
is not sufficiently full to take the
place of the natural causes of their
adversity. Thus is demonstrated
the necessity of the gradual progress
of creation, and the consequent order
of nature.

The five verses in the first chapter
of Genesis, on which, hitherto, we
have commented, give rise to the
following questions, and their sub-
joined answers.

1. Why was light created before
the existence of any beings that
stood in need of it, as the Holy One
(blessed be HE ! ) could not Himself
require its use ?

2. Whyj is not the expression,
" And it was so," applied to the
creation of light, as it is to all the
other works of creation ?

COMMENTARIES OX HOLY WRIT.

95

3. Why does Holy Writ first say,
"God "saw the light that it was
good," and afterwards, " God di-
vided the light from the darkness ? "
Ought not this order to have been
inverted, and the division have pre-
ceded the expression of the Divine
approbation ?

4. Why says Holy Writ, " It was
evening, it was morning, one day ? "
Ought not this order to have been
inverted, as the sun was not yet cre-
ated, and evening succeeds its set-
ting?

5. How can the expression,
" Evening and morning, one day,"
be at all used before the creation of
the sun, as night and day are caused
by its light, and no computation of
time could take place before its
existence ?

6. Why is the expression here,
"One day,"* and not " the first day,"
as is said of the second, third, and
succeeding days •

The answers to these questions
are as follow -. —

To the first. — There are two opi-
nions respecting light : one,- jthat it
is spiritual ; and the other, that it is
physical. According to the first
opinion, this light is superior to all
the rest of creation, not only in qua-
lity, but likewise in time, as from it
all other beings emanated. Accord-
ing to the second opinion, the crea-
tion of light properly takes place of
all other works, being a decided
creation of something out of nothing ;
as darkness is but the negation or
absence of light ; and, as darkness
ruled the night, light was, according
to the intention of the Creator, re-
quired to rule the succeeding portion,
day.

To the second. — According to the
opinion, that this light is spiritual,
its terrestrial office was of short du-
ration, and could not, therefore, be
properly expressed by the words,
I- Vn, " and it was so," as these
denote it was confirmed and remain-
ed. According to the opinion that
light is physical, the words, " It was

"The rendering of the authorized ver-
sion, " The evening and the morning were
the first Jay,'' doe* not correctly correspond

(To be continued.)

so," can only be applied to the
formation of the matter created on
the first day, but cannot be applied
to the positive creation out of no-
thing.

To the third. — The separation be-
tween light and shade or darkness
was instantaneous, and followed the
words, " Let there be light." The
immediate illumination which per-
vaded the universe was good ; but,
in order to mark the distinction
between night and day, ligbt was
confined to one side of the globe,
whilst shade prevailed on the
other; and as these never join, but
always alternate, they are called
" divided."

To the fourth. — As it was in the
plan of the Creator, that the space
of time He designated should be
equal to the diurnal evolution, His
wisdom assigned to darkness the
portion subsequently called night ;
and to light that subsequently
called day : And evening is men-
tioned first because darkness pre-
ceded the creation of light.

To the fifth. — The preceding an-
swer likewise applies to this ques-
tion ; for, although the computation
of time commenced with the creation
of the sun, the Divine wisdom caused
that uniformity to be observed which
subsequently limited the duration
of day and night to twenty-four
hours.

To 'the sixth. — Commentators say
the word first can only be used
where there is a second to succeed ;
but as the second day was not yet in
existence, first could not be applied
to its predecessor. This, however,
does not seem to be a satisfactory
answer, as there is no future to the
Deity. But the words, " One day,"
are used, in order to express that
the computation of time was that of
one diurnal evolution, and that
evening and morning were equal to
what subsequently was called, one
day ; and not merely to denote its
rank in the succession of days.

with the original, as the word there nsedis,
Tin, ".one," not •TEm, "the first."

EDITOR.

IV. MORALITY OF THE TALMUD.

TREATISE, Sabbath, FOLIO 148.

R. ELIEZER saith, " Repent one
day before thy death." His disciples
asked of him, " How can any man
know the day of his death ? " His
answer was, " Be penitent to-day, as
to-morrow thou mayest die ; and if
thou observe this, thy whole life
will be such that when the day of
reckoning cometh, thou wilt be pre-
pared." And thus Solomon said in
his Wisdom, " Let thy raiment at
all times be pure and white, nor let
ointment be wanting on thy head."
(Eccles.ix.8.) R. Jochanan ben Sachai
explained this saying of Solomon in
a parable : — A king invited his ser-
vants to a feast, but did not name
any precise time for their attendance.
Those among them who were provi-
dent dressed and ornamented them-
selves, and stood in waiting at the
palace gate : " Because," said they,
" the king's palace is not deficient of
means for the- speedy preparation of
a feast." But those who were fool-
ish said, " Every feast requires much
preparation." They consequently
went about their ordinary occupa-
tions. Suddenly the summons was
given to appear before the king.
The provident were ushered in, and
took their appointed places ; but
when the silly entered into the royal
presence, their garments were soiled,
as they had no time to get properly
arrayed. The king rejoiced to see
the former, and said, " Ye that are
fit to sit at my table, partake of my
feast." But he reproached the
latter, saying, " Ye that presume to
come into my presence, all soiled
and unadorned, ye may stand and
look on." The son-in-law of R.
Meir, and in his name, added :
" How happy would the latter have
been, were they at all admitted to
the feast, though but in the servile
capacity of attendants ! But it is
not so. Both are invited ; but,
whilst the former feast in abundance,
the latter starve in penury ; as it is
written : ' Behold, my servants shall

eat, but ye shall be hungry : Behold,
my servants shall drink, but ye shall
be thirsty : Behold, my servants
shall rejoice, but ye shall be asham-
ed : Behold, my servants shall sing
for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for
sorrow of heart, and shall howl for
vexation of spirit.' " (Isaiah Ixv.
13, 14.)

The moral which this parable in-
culcates,— conveyed as it is in that
simple unassuming style in which
the Rabbies generally delivered their
instruction, and which, from its very
want of pretension, speaks more di-
rectly to the heart than any fine
figures of speech and rhetorical
flowers possibly can do, — demands
our attention on account of the im-
portant diversity of opinion express-
ed by R. Jochanan ben Sachai and
R. Meir. The former says, that,
unless man properly prepares him-
self here, by the practice of virtue,
piety, and penitence, (which he
calls, " being dressed, ornament-
ed, and in waiting at the palace
gate,") he is not capable of enjoying
the rewards of a BLISSFUL HERE-
AFTER ; and that the punishment
of his criminal negligence consists
in that very incapacity, and in the
shame and remorse which assail him
when he beholds the bliss of which
others enjoy a fulness, but from
the participation of which he is ex-
cluded. According to this opinion,
the punishment of the impenitent
would 1-3 merely negative, and
would consist only of the incapacity
to enjoy, and consequent exclusion
from the rewards of the blessed. R.
Meir, however, goes further, and
tells us, that, as the reward is posi-
tive, the punishment is not less so :
And he supports his opinion by a
quotation so strong, so expressive,
and so apposite, that we fear to
weaken the impression which it can-
not fail to make on every reflecting
miml, by any attempt, on our part,
at addition or explanation.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Squarc.

HEBREW REVIEW

AND

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWELFTH DAY OF CHESVAX. 5595.
FRIDAY, XOVEMBER 14, 1834.

No. 7.

I. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

THE SABBATH.

(Continued from page 84.)

IT is needless any further to conti-
nue tbe description we have attempt-
ed. The Israelite -whose feelings
are hallowed by the Sabbath, with
its own beatitude and sanctity, needs
not our faint sketch of its transcend-
ent realities ; and to him who, un-
fortunately, is a stranger to such
feelings, our delineation conveys no
image. This is what the Talmud
intends to express when it says,
(Treatise, Sabbath, fol. 119,}"Ceesar
inquired of R. Joshua, the son of
Chanania, ' Why are your Sabbath-
meats so fragrant?' He answered,
' We have a spice called Sabbath,
which seasons them.' ' Give me
some of that spice,' said Caesar. ' He
only,' replied R. Joshua, ' who ob-
serves the Sabbath can enjoy its
fragrance ; but to him that observes
it not, it yields no odour.' " This
answer appears inconsistent, and not
to meet the question ; as, though
Caesar did not observe the Sabbath,
he nevertheless discovered and en-
joyed the fragrance of the Sabbath-
meats. But it seems that the whole
of this conversation is allegorical,
and that the question asked by Cfesar
really was, " How can you Jews
imagine that your corporeal enjoy-
ments on the Sabbath (which he calls
meats) can become conducive to the
nobler delight of the mind ? " (which
he calls fragrance.') To which R.
Joshua, replies, " Such is the pecu-
liar influence of the Sabbath, that it
affords to its observers a foretaste of
a future state ; and thus ennobles
those corporeal enjoyments, which,
without a due recollection of the
day and of its Founder, degenerate
into mere gratification of the pas-
sions." And when Caesar requires
that the process of feelings by which
this is occasioned be explained or

communicated to him, the Rabbi
answers, " I cannot explain to him
who observes not the Sabbath the
felicity and delight which it, when
observed, imparts, and which are in-
separable from it."

As all these observances, and the
delights they afford, are but intended
to prepare the mind for that which
is the peculiar occupation of the
Sabbath, namely, the contemplation
of the Deity and of a future state,
we must revert to the first institu-
tion of the Sabbath, and the words
made usa of in Gen. ii. 1-3 : "Thus
were completed the heavens, and the
earth, and all their hosts ; and God
completed on the seventh day all
his work which he had made," and
he rested on the seventh day from
all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified the same ; for on that
day he rested from all his work
which God had created to continue
working." The words by which
Holy Writ expresses the institution
and distinction of the Sabbath are
^rPH "pi", Godblessed, andsnp'l,
he sanciified, the seventh day." In
order properly to understand these
two expressions, it is needful to de-
fine the precise meaning which the
words bear, and which we find to be
twofold, 1. The verb -p;:, to bless,
we find used in Holy Writ when it
is intended to convey the kind wish
that the welfare of any one may be
such as the speaker desires, and in
a greater degree than the person
blessed already possesses. He to
whom such wishes are applied and in
whom they become realized, is called
iessed. As examples, we cite,

them," (Gen. i. 28,) fpV n« ~ r •
"And he blessed Joseph," (Genesis

98

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

xiviii. is,) ^ty VQ- riK iiran TO

" Thus shall ye bless the children of
Israel," (Numbers vi. 23,) D13N fill,
" Blessed be Abram of the most
high God," (Gen. xiv. 19,) !rn« TTD
"Blessed art thou," (Dent, xxviii.
3-6,) Tni Nil, " Come in, thou
blessed of the Lord." (Gen. xxiv. 31.)
Numerous other instances might be
adduced. 2. But it is likewise used
in a very different sense ; namely, to
express the feeling of gratitude and
love entertained -towards the Deity,
to whom man can wish nothing, as
He (blessed be HE !) is already pos-
sessed of every thing. But to ex-
press this, the adjective *]Vi:i, "bless-
ed," is invariably employed ; as in-
stances of which, we cite : b& 'IT'Q
p^y, "Blessed be the most high
God," (Gen. xiv. 20,) nnN Tim,
" Blessed be thou, Lord God of Is-
rael," (1 Chron. xxix. 10,) 71") s
1115, " Blessed be the glory of God
from his place. " (Ezek. iii. 12.) Other
passages might be referred to, similar
in construction.

The second word is tyip^l, "And
he sanctified." This too we find used
as conveying different meanings.
Thus, rwnp, " holiness, sanctity,"
means, 1. "Purity," in extreme op-
position to n«DltO, " impurity," or
"uncleanness:"* As, for instance,

ND^ Dib »nbmn itw, "Which I

have set apart from you as unclean,"
QWllp ^ DJTTTl, " And ye shall be
holy," (or pure,) "unto me." (Lev.
xx. 25, 26.) 2. "Perfection,". when
applied to the Deity : As the three-
fold Ufllp, ." holy," in Isaiah vi. 4.
3. It also means " to prepare :" As
inob ItlHpnn, " Prepare yourselves
for to-morrow," (Num. xi. 18.)

Having thus defined the various
meanings to convey which these two
words are used in Holy Writ, it re-
mains to determine which of all
these significations can be assigned
to the expression, " God blessed the

* It is a singular fact that the Hebrew
NOTD cannot be properly translated : bnt
i:u.-t, in all other languages, lie given by a
;• plu-aso, as the Latin impitntx, the
Greek aicaOapros, the English unclean, the
French immcmde, the German unrein, the
Polish iiieczyste, the Swedish orcen, the
Danish orrfm, &c., all of which are merely

seventh day and sanctified it," in
Genesis ; or, rather, whether any
one of them can at all be applied to
" the seventh day," a portion of
time, and, as such, incapable of re-
ceiving a blessing and of being bless-
ed, or of being either sanctified, per-
fect, or prepared. The proper un-
derstanding of these words, as ap-
plied to the seventh day, require
that we should revert to the para-
bles of Genubah and the Rabbies,
(page 68,) and we say, that when
they call the Sabbath " the perfec-
tion" of the creation, they do not
intend to bestow that epithet on the
certain portion of time called " the
seventh day," but on the benefits
conferred on all the beings in the
universe on that day ; that, after all
the works of creation were finished,
the Deity was pleased on that day
to bestow the full emanation of his
grace, bounty, and love on all his
intellectual creatures in a more per-
fect manner than on any of the pre-
ceding days on which the work was
in progress. This full emanation is
expressed by 'prpi, "he blessed,"
and un p*) , " he sanctified ;" that is to
say, as the supreme felicityof intellec-
tual beings throughout all the degrees
of creation consists in contemplating
the Divine perfections, and to in-
crease in the knowledge and love of
God, (so as perfectly to cleave to
him,) according to the degree in
which he vouchsafes to reveal him-
self ; and. moreover, this contempla-
tion as the supreme felicity is the
acme j^f all Him " Blessing, "
and leads to fWOp " purity and ho-
liness," and consequent perfection,
according to the degree in which the
Most Holy (blessed be HE!) has
deigned to permit that they shall be
attainable; the Sabbath or rest, by
which that full emanation of grace is
evidenced, becomes the end and aim
(or, as the Rabbies calls it, " the
Bride,") for the sake o£ which the
universe (which they call the chupah
or " canopy") was created. This

the negative of clean ; whereas, in Hebrew,
the word has a positive meaning, the coun-
ter-sense of iirro, clean, and the extreme
counter-sense of crip, holiness, or purify,
arid denotes a spiritual as well as physical
state, which, in any other language, we
wiirit a precise word to express.

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

99

full emanation of the Divine love
was conferred on all intellectual
beings throughout creation : Al-
though it was an especial token of the
Divine favour that — when; in after-
ages the Law of Moses was granted
to the descendants of the Patriarchs,
— when the Deity was pleased to
appoint the seed of Abraham his
friend, of Jacob his elect, to be his
own chosen people, — when he sanc-
tified them by his laws, and proclaim-
ed them to be a kingdom of priests
and an holy people, — He then be-
stowed on them the Sabbath as a
precious gift out of the Divine trea-
sury, and vouchsafed to declare that
this full emanation of the Divine
love and grace (the Sabbath,) which
was the perfection of the glorious
work of creation, should be unto
the Israelites a sign between them
and the GREAT SOURCE of all bless-
ing and perfection ; that He (b.
be HE !) granted and permitted
them, on that day, the free contem-
plation of Himself and His perfec-
tion as far as it is possible for the
human soul to engage in it. This,
which is the principal observance
and only occupation of the Sabbath,
gave rise to the well-known Rabbi-
nical expression — . " r: "enlarge-
ment of the soul," by which they
meant, that the contemplative fa-
culties of the soul are enlarged ; and
that the truly pious Israelite feels
within himself a perceptible increase
of his knowledge and love of the
Deity, whose grace enables his soul
to cleave to God with greater ardour
on the Sabbath than it has the power
of doing on any other day : Nor let
it for an instant be supposed, that
this assertion of the Rabbies is other-
wise than in perfect accordance with
reason and experience. Man, even
the most pious, remains subject to
the frailties of humanity, to the
wants and feelings of our common
nature. It is therefore not po-
that, whilst his attention, in howe-
ver small a degree, is diverted by the
mundane cares of the six working
days, it should possess the same in-
tenseness as when all its energies
are confined, as on the Sabbath, to
one object only, namely, the worship
most worthy of the Creator.

•?aid before, that this full ema-

nation of the Divine grace wa-
tended to all intellectual beings ; and
we now proceed to state, that the
Sabbath conferred on the Israelites by
the Deity, — however much an espe-
cial gift of the Divine favour towards
them ; and although its observance
according to the Mosaic law :
cumbent, solely, on them, — is not
granted them merely for their own
exclusive benefit ; but that it enters
into the plans of the Divine Provi-
dence that this day and its observ-
ance by Israelites should, to all other
nations of the earth, afford as per-
fect, convincing, and incontroverti-
ble a proof of the truth of revealed
religion, and all its sacred and im-
portant doctrines, as human reason
can require or conceive. History
relates, in records, the existence of
which has been preserved by the
greatest possible zeal, and with a
care so scrupulous that their inte-
grity cannot reasonably be called in
question, — that an entire nation,
composed of six hundred thousand
men, besides women, children, and a
mixed multitude, that had joined
them, (after having, by a series of
supernatural events, been redeemed
from bondage,) traversed the sea,
which opened to give them a safe pas-
sage ; — and that subsequently they
did, during forty successive years,
wander about in the arid and sterile
deserts of Arabia Petraea, where
(had they been limited to such sup-
plies as the scene of their wander-
ings afforded, or as they could have
carried with them,) they must have
miserably perished through hunger
and want. Of this as a fact generally
known, fully established, and utterly
indisputable, the Prophet reminds
the descendants of that nation, nearly
one thousand years later, when he
says in the name of the Lord, " I
will remember the faith of thy
younger years, the love of thy bri-
dal state, when thou didst follow me
in the desert, in a land where seed
was never sown." (Jeremiah ii. 2.)
The same history further relates, —
that this nation was saved from the
horrid fate of starvation ; as it pleased
the Deity to interpose his special
Providence, and to send them, dur-
ing six days in every week, a parti-
cular nutriment, the like of which

c 2

100

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

has not before or since been known ;
— that the supply was so regulated,
that, whether much or little had
been gathered, the portion of each
individual was alike ; — but that on
every sixth day this portion was dou-
bled, because on the seventh day
(Sabbath) the supply altogether
ceased ; — and that, although any
quantity of this food, saved from
one day to another during the six
days, invariably became putrid,
wormy, and utterly unfit for nou-
rish ment, yet the double portion
gathered on the Sabbath- eve retained
its pristine wholeso*meness and nu-
tritious qualities on the Sabbath
day ;— that their leader, the accre-
dited messenger and instrument of
the Deity amongst them, informed
them that this increase of the sup-
ply on the sixth day was in conse-
quence of the seventh day being
"tthe Sabbath of the Lord," conse-
crated to rest and contemplation, on
which day it was unlawful to them
to do any work ; — and that therefore
they would not find any of this food
(by them called manna) in the field,
nor should they attempt to gather
any ; — that when some individuals
(notwithstanding they had been thus
pre-admonished) went out to gather
as usual, on the Sabbath day, they
did not find any ; — that they were
reproved by the Deity for their want
of faith and obedience ; — and that it
was moreover said to them, " See
ye ! the Lord has given you the
Sabbath ; " (You see with your own
eyes, and are convinced by your
own senses, that the Lord has insti-
tuted the Sabbath, as a day of rest
devoted to his worship, and there-
fore " to-day ye shall not find it in
the field ; ") — that the command to
consecrate the Sabbath to God, and
to be careful in its observance, was
repeated on another still more so-
lemn occasion at Sinai, where all Is-
rael heard the commands of the Lord
from Himself; — that these facts,
confirmed by the constant experience
of two generations during forty con-
secutive years of wandering, were
transmitted by all the fathers of this
entire nation to their children, with
the strict charge to persevere in the
same observance of the Sabbath
which they had seen and been taught

in the paternal home ; — that thia
their behest has been so carefully
obeyed, that it is not only persevered
in at the present day, after a lapse of
thirty-five centuries, but that, dur-
ing the whole of this long period,
there never was any time when this
observance had ceased, or its trans-
gression did nx)t call forth due ex-
hortation and reproof from teachers
properly authorized by the Deity ; —
that, moreover, when this observ-
ance was first commanded by God to
the Israelites, He told them, " Ve-
rily my Sabbaths shall ye observe ;
for it is a sign between me and
you throughout your generations,
that ye may know that I the Lord
do sanctify you. Ye shall observe
the Sabbath, for it is holy unto you.
Six days may work be done, but on
the seventh day is the Sabbath of
rest, sacred to the Lord. Wherefore
the children of Israel shall keep the
Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath
throughout their generations ; an
everlasting covenant. Between me
and the children of Israel it is a per-
petual sign : for in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, and
on the seventh day he rested, and
bestowed his grace." (Exodus xxxi.
13-17.) To this we may add, that,
in latter times, the same Most High
Authority vouchsafed to say to
the Israelites, " Ye are my witnesses
saith the Lord that I am God."
(Isaiah xliii. 12.) And accordingly
it is found, amidst the most wonder-
ful vicissitudes and changes of for-
tune, in their own land and in exile
wherever the decree of providence
has scattered them, that this parti-
cular nation, despite of the urgent
clamour of poverty or the allure-
ments of interest, still looks up to
the sign as perpetual, and adheres to
the covenant as everlasting, without
the slightest interruption or devia-
tion ; so that there is no region, no
nation that has any claims whatever
to civilization, but knows the.Sabbath
from the Jew, and the Jew by the
Sabbath. Who can take upon him-
self to say that this is so, for any
other reason than because Israelites
are the witnesses of the Deity, who
bear evidence to the fact that the
Lord alone is the great First Cause,
whose omnipotence created the uni-

SPIBIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOX.

101

verse which his omniscience governs,
and his mercy preserves ; that he
revealed his laws and his will, and
made known to man what are his
duties, and what are the means of
acquiring perfection, and the bless-
ings of a future state ? And where
is the fool who saith, " There is no
God ! " the infidel who denies the
truth of revelation, that shall pre-
sume,— in the face of evidence so
conclusive, so continuous, and so
perfectly borne out and supported
by every test that can possibly be
required to produce and maintain
full conviction, — to continue his sin-
ful cavils against revelation, and who
does not (stricken with shame and
remorse) cease to carp at the enact-
ments of the Divine law ?*

THE word tl'£r1', derived from
U?2i " soul," to which in a preceding
page reference has been made, has
occasioned different translations. We
will at present only notice the autho-
rized English version, which renders
it, " He was refreshed ; " the German
translation of Luther, which turns
it into, Er erquickte sich, " He re-
vived or refreshed himself;" and
that of Mendelssohn, Sein ziel errei-
chet, " He attained his aim." We
need scarcely call the attention of
our readers to the impropriety of ap-
plying the terms of any of these
translations to the Supreme Being.
But, independently of this impropri-
ety, the true meaning of the word

* In this sense our Rabbies of blessed
memory expounded Shemoth Rabba : (chap.
xvi. 29 :) " See ye ! the Lord has given ye
the Sabbath. Why does not Holy Writ say,
Know ye, &c. ? The answer is, Moses
said to the Israelites, ' If the nations of the
earth inquire of yon, ^Tiy do ye observe the
Sabbath ? ye are to answer, See yon not
that the manna does not descend on the
Sabbath?'" The Rabbies are struck with
the difference in this case, from all other
observances commanded by the Deity. All
other enactments of the divine laws are left
to the free-will of man ; to obey and be re
warded, or to transgress and be punished.
The observance of the Sabbath in the desert,
however, was secured from any transgres-
sion, as the Israelites could not follow their
every-day occupation of gathering manna,
because none did fall. Had the Israelites
alone been concerned, it would have afforded
greater merit to them, by permitting their
free-will to give proofs of its obedience and

does not seem to be given by either
translator ; and, if it were given, it
would be the only time throughout
the sacred Scriptures that it bears
such an interpretation. The ChaL
dee paraphrase of Onkelos renders it
n:i, which may be translated either
by he rested, or he was satisfied. In
the Talmud, (Treatise, Betza, fol. 16,)
the word t^an is derived from tr-::,
"soul;" and later commentators
expound the meaning of the Talmud-
ists by saying, that on the Sabbath
human souls and spiritual intelli-
gences received the efflux of the
Divine grace. In accordance with
our previous observations we think
that this word, although derived
from ttfBJ, "soul," here implies
" good-will" or " grace," as will is
a principal quality of the soul. In
this sense we find it again in Jere-
miah (xv. 1.)

" Though Moses and Samuel stood
before me, my good-will (grace) is
not with this people;" or, as the
authorized version here more cor-
rectly has it, " My mind is not," fyc.
The word ii?£n would consequently
here denote that the Deity bestowed
his^race or good-will on his creatures,
and we have translated it accordingly.
For, as Solomon saith, " In the light
of the King's countenance there is
life ; and his will (grace) is like a
cloud of the latter rain." (Prov. xvi.
14.) — EDITOR.

faith, if the manna had fallen on the Sab-
bath as on every other day, and they had
observed the institution of the sacred day
of rest, and abstained from gathering. This
would likewise have been more in accord-
ance with the usual dispensations of Provi-
dence and the scope afforded to human
volition. But as it was intended that the
Sabbath should be a sign of facts of which
the Israelites were chosen to bear evidence
to all mankind ; the most positive proof was
afforded to them by the experience of their
senses during forty successive years, that the
Sabbath was sanctified by and to the Lord.
And as there were no other nations in the
lonely desert, who' then could question the
Israelites respecting their observance, the
reference to this miracle, and to the satis-
factory proof it afforded, was intended as an
answer and instruction during all future
ages unto all the nations of the earth. For,
"from Zion proceedeth the law, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem,''' (Micah
iv. 2.) -EDITOR.

102

II. JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

Eben hangezer : "ROCK OP ASSISTANCE." (Conjugal Code.)
(Continued from page 74 J

WHEN the betrothing is depen-
dent a conditional agreement, either
on the part of the man or of the
woman, the kedushin are only then
valid, when the agreement is com-
pleted ; hut if the terms of such
agreement have not been complied
with, the kedushin are void.

In order to be legal, any agree-
ment of kedushin requires four con-
ditions : 1. That it shall contain both
positive and negative stipulations.
2. That the positive stipulation
must precede the negative one. 3.
That the stipulation shall precede
its consequence. 4. That the stipu-
lation shall be within the reach of
possibility. If any of these four
essential requisites be neglected, the
agreement is illegal, the stipulations
become void, and the kedushin re-
main valid.

APPENDIX. — If the negative stipu-
lation precedes the positive one, but
is subsequently, on repetition, placed
in legal order, the agreement is bind-
ing.

These four conditions are indis-
pensably required to an agreement,
if the stipulation is, that the act of
betrothing is to_date, and have force,
from and after the completing of the
terms of such agreement. But if it
is agreed that the betrothing is to
have immediate force and legality,
but that the covenants stipulated
shall be executed at a subsequent
period, or in terms to that effect,
then the whole of the above four
conditions are not indispensably re-
quisite, as in that case the two first
points may be dispensed with.
Some authorities, however, differ
from this opinion, and maintain
that, in any and every case, the
aforesaid four conditions are indis-
pensable to the legality of the agree-
ment.

APPENDIX. — Some are of opinion
that, although the above four condi-
tions have not been expressed, but
that the stipulation runs " Accord-
ing to the agreement of the Tribes of
Gad and Reuben,"* the agreement is
legal.

* Vide Numbers xxxii. 20.

Some are of opinion that these
four conditions are required out of
precaution, and to avoid transgres-
sion ; and that in cases of betroth-
ing by conditional agreement, in
which either or all of these condi-
tions have been omitted, the woman
must not marry any other man with-
out previously obtaining a divorce ;
and if she has become betrothed to
another man, she must likewise have
a divorce from him.

If a man betroths a woman, by
giving her a prutah, or coin, and
says to her, " Thou art mekudesheth
(sanctified) unto me by this coin,
on condition that I give thee one
hundred pieces of gold : " If he
subsequently completes this condi-
tion, she is considered as legally
betrothed from the time he first
gave her the prutah ; and although
he may not then have expressed
that the kedushin were to have im-
mediate force, that is tacitly under-
stood.

If another has, in the interval be-
tween giving her the prutah and
the completing of the condition, be-
trothed her, these second kedushin
become void.

If a man has betrothed a woman,
on condition of paying her one hun-
dred gold pieces before the expira-
tion of thirty days, and he makes
the payment within the thirty days,
the kedushin are valid ; but if he has
not done so, they are void. If, dur-
ing these thirty days, before the
completing of the condition, another
man has betrothed her, in that case,
during these thirty days, it is doubt-
ful to which of the two she is actu-
ally betrothed. If the first com-
pletes his agreement within the sti-
pulated thirty days, her first kedushin
are valid, and she requires no di-
vorce from the second ; but if the
first does not act up to his agree-
ment, within the stipulated space of
thirty days, her first kedushin are
void, the second are valid, and she
requires no divorce from the first.

If a man says to a woman, " If I
give thee one hundred gold pieces
within thirty days, thou shalt be

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

103

mekudesheth, unto me with this pru-
f'ih," then the kedushin only date,
and come in force, from and after
the completion of the agreement.
Should another man betroth her
in the interval, and, previous to the
expiration of the stipulated time and
performance of the agreement by
the first, she is legally betrothed to
the second.

If a man says to a woman, " Thou
art mekudesheth unto me, "on condi-
tion that thy father gives his con-
sent ; " in that case, if the father
does consent, the kedushin are valid :
If he has not consented, has heard
of it, and said nothing, or died pre-
viously to hearing of the conditions,
the kedushin are void. But if the
expression was, " On condition that
thy father does not object ; " in that
case, if the father does object, the
kedushin are void ; but if the father
did not object, or died before hear-
ing of the condition, they are valid.
If the bridegroom died previous to
the father's hearing of the betrothal,
the father is to be informed, in order
that he may object, and thus invali-
date the kedushin, and release her
from the obligation of receiving a
divorce from her betrothed hus-
band's brother.*

Some are of opinion that, though
the man used the expression, " If
thy father consent," it is only tanta-
mount to his saying, " If thy father
do not object." Others say it is tan-
tamount to his saying, " If b% says
nothing."

If the expression was, " On con-
dition that thy father says he will
consent ; " although in the first in-
stance the father should object; yet,
if subsequently he expresses his con-
sent, the kedushin are valid. And
as the father may, at any time dur-
ing his life, express such consent,
the daughter remains saphek meku-
desheth, or " questionably betrothed,"
and may not, until the father's
death, be betrothed to another man
without previous divorce from the
first.

If the expression was, " On con-
dition that thy father says nothing ;"
and if, when the father hears of
such condition, he says nothing ; the

* Vide Deuteronomy sxr. 5.

kedushin are valid, although he
should subsequently utter his ob-
jection. But if the father, when
first he heard of it, objected, al-
though he subsequently consents,
the kedushin are void. If the father
dies previous to becoming acquaint-
ed with the condition, they are
valid.

If the expression was, "On con-
dition that thy father does not ob-
ject ; " although, when the father
first hears of this condition, he con-
sents, yet, should he subsequently
object, the kedushin are void.
Others, however, are of opinion
that, having once consented, he can-
not retract, and that consequently
the kedushin are valid.

Should a man say to a woman,
" Thou art mekudesheth unto me
with this prutah, on condition that I
perform certain work or labour for
thee ; or speak in thy behalf to the
Government:" If there are witnes-
ses to prove that he has performed
his agreement, the kedushin are
valid ; if not, they are questionable.

If he has not given her any thing,
but said, " Be mekudesheth unto me,
in consideration of the wages I shall
earn, for doing certain work or la-
bour for thee, or speaking in thy
behalf to the Government," she is
not mekudesheth, although he per-
form the stipulations of his agree-
ment. The reason is, that wages
accrue gradually as the labour pro-
ceeds : That at. the commencement
of his work there was nothing due
to him, and he is bound to give her
something to make the kedushin
valid ; during the progress of the
work, the gift is not yet entire ; and
when the work is completed, it is
already become a debt, as it accrues
gradually, and a debt is not a legal
consideration for kedushin.'*

If he says, " On condition that I
am possessed of a certain sum," if
it is proved by witnesses that he
does possess such sum, the kedushin
are valid ; if not, they are question-
able. And when there are no wit-
nesses, although he himself should
admit that he is not possessed of

* We recommend this conclusion to our
readers as a fair specimen of Rabbinical
logic.

104

JURISPRUDENCE OF THE HEBREWS.

that certain sum, the kedushin are
nevertheless questionable.

If the expression was, " On condi-
tion that I have a certain sum in the
hands of such an one : " If it is
proved by witnesses that his asser-
tion is true, the kedushin are valid ;
if not, they are questionable, even if
the alleged debtor denied the claim
upon him.

If a man says to a woman, " Thou
art mekudesheth unto me, on condi-
tion that I shew thee a certain
amount ;" the kedushin are only valid
if he produces to her that certain
amount of his own property ; for if
he shows her money belonging to
others, and placed in his hands for
the purposes of trade, the kedushin
are not valid. Some are of opinion
that if he has in hand monies be-
longing to others, which have yield-
ed to his share- profits equal to the
sum he undertook to produce, never-
theless, the kedushin are not valid ;
as the profits do not become his
property until they are divided. But
if he has produced to her that cer-
tain amount, although destined to
liquidate a debt, the kedushin are
valid.

If, at the time he undertook to
produce that certain sum, he was
not possessed thereof, but subse-
quently earned and produced it ;
some are of opinion the kedushin
are valid : But if he said, " On
condition that I now have that sum,"
all agree that, if he then had it not,
but subsequently earned it, the ke-
dushin are void.

If a man betroths a woman, and
either of them instantly repents,
and retracts, the kedushin remain
valid.

If a man betroths a woman, un-
der a conditional agreement ; and
after a few days he retracts the sti-
pulation; although his doing so was
without witnesses, the kedushin are
nevertheless valid : Thus, likewise,
if the agreement was obligatory on
her, and she recalls the stipulation.
Consequently, if a man betroths a
woman under a conditional agree-
ment, and consummates the mar-
riage previous to completing such

agreement ; although he subse-
quently should fail in the perform-
ance of his agreement, the kedushin
nevertheless remain questionable ;
as it is likely that he recalled the
stipulations. If another man be-
troths her, she must obtain a di-
vorce from both.

If a man says to a woman, " Thou
art mekudesheth unto me by this pru-
tah, on condition that I give thee a
certain sum," and he subsequently
declares that he will never give it
her ; he cannot be forced to give her
that amount; but the kedushin are
void, and she needs no divorce.
Nevertheless, a man of tender con-
science should not marry her, unless
she be divorced by the first ; as, if he
were at any time to complete his
agreement, the first kedushin would
still be in force, and the second
might become exposed to the guilt of
having wedded another man's wife.

If a man goes on a voyage, and
previous to his departure betroths a
woman, saying, "Thou art mekude-
sheth to me by this prutah, from this
present time, provided I return before
the expiration of twelve months ; " if
before he actually departs they have
both agreed to prolong the term ;
and he remains absent longer than
the twelve months, but returns be-
fore the expiration of the further
period to which the agreement had
been extended, the kedushin are
valid ; as every stipulation may, by
mutual consent, be either recalled
or modified. And should she have
expended the gift of the kedushin
during his absence, that does not
affect the validity of the act of be-
trothing.

If the stipulations of the agree-
ment are in favour of the man : As,
for instance, "On condition that
thou art free of bodily ailments or
of any vow," he can recal the stipu-
lation of his own accord. But if
the stipulation is in her favour, as
for instance, " On condition that I
give thee a certain sum ; " although
he cannot be compelled to perform
the agreement, he cannot, of his own
accord, set it aside ; and if he does,
the kedushin are void.

(To be continued.')

105

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 78 J

CHAPTER VI.

EVERY one who professes faith in
the Divine laws is, — by virtue of
the proofs which, in the preceding
chapters, we have adduced of the
first essential principle, " the exist-
ence of the Deity," — held to believe
that there is a Being whose existence
is inherent, absolute, and uncondi-
tional within himself; who has no
cause, or origin, nor is there any
other being like unto him ; but he .
alone is the first producer of what-
soever exists ; that all beings find
the support of their existence in
him, whereas he derives no sup-
port either from them or from any
other source ; and that such Being
is by men called GOD ! (Blessed be
He !) This gives us "a plain and
distinct perception of the conclu-
sions to which we came in the fore-
going chapters. We must, however,
premise, that, as it is the exclusive
distinction of any object that ren-
ders it perceptible to our minds ; so
likewise in using the expression, "A
Being whose existence is inherent,
absolute, and unconditional" (as the
word Being is a collective noun, ap-
plicable to whatever is in existence),
these three adjectives convey to our
minds that exclusive distinction
which is required to enable us to
form a perceptible idea ; for it is
this quality of " inherent, absolute,
and unconditional " existence which
forms the essential difference and
distinction between the Deity and
whatever is external to him. All
other distinctive epithets, — such as,
that* he is the First Producer, u>i~
equalled, and others of the same
kind, — are but so many explanatory
terms, resulting from this inherent,
absolute, and unconditional exist-
ence in himself, so as to render
more perfect any uiea that it is pos-
sible for us to form of Him, — blessed
be HE ! For no marks of exclusive
distinction can in reality be assigned
to the Deity ; as, whatever requires
to be distinguished from other things
pre-supposes it possessed of a some-
thing in comrcon with them, which

occasions the necessity of an exclu-
sive mark of distinction. This,
however, cannot be the case with
the Deity. When we call him BE-
IXG, that word cannot be considered
as a noun collective, comprising
God and whatever else exists, so as
to render it necessary that there
should be any means to distinguish
Hiin from others ; for, the existence
of all other beings is founded in
him, of whose Being they are merely
the production. As thus this word
ceases to be a noun collective, appli-
cable in the same sense to the Deity
in common with his creatures, He
requires no epithet of distinction.
Consequently, when we apply any
such to him, — as, for instance, that
he has no equal, — such expression
is only relative to what is external
to him, and means that he is inde-
pendent of all and every other be-
ing, whilst all and every other being
is produced by HIM on whom their
existence is altogether dependent.

This first essential principle (" the
existence of the Deity") gives rise
to the four chief branches which we
enumerated in our first division ;
and whosoever denies any one of
them rejects the entire principle.
These are 1. The Unity of God. 2.
His Immateriality. 3. His Inde-
pendence of time. 4. His Perfec-
tion.

1. The unity of God is self-evi-
dent, as we have already proved :
For, if he were not OXE only, but
two or more, then each of this plu-
rality would require two things : (1.)
Inherent, absolute, and uncondi-
tional existence. (2.) That which
separates, or renders it distinct,
from the others. Thus each of
them would be composite ; and as
their being so is essential to their
existence, that existence would no
longer be inherent, absolute, and
unconditional. 2. That he is imma-
terial, is 'equally self-evident : For,
as we have already demonstrated,
every thing material is composed of
matter and form, every thing com-
posite requires buch composition as
essential to its existence : and t'..!-;

10G

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHV OF THE RABBIES.

brings us back to what we have al-
ready said above, in proof of the
Divine Unity. It may, perhaps, by
some be asserted, " that it is not es-
sential to matter, that, in order to
be such, it should be composed of
matter and form ; and that this
composition is not the peculiar and
exclusive distinction of matter ; that
some philosophers have maintained
the superior material beings to be
absolute unities, without any ad-
mixture or composition whatever ;
and that our finding all terrestrial
matter composite, is not caused
by, or essential to, its being mat-
ter, but results from the circum-
stance that its formation into differ-
ent kinds and species requires that
it should be composite ; that, conse-
quently, notwithstanding the abso-
lute Unity of God, there is a possi-
bility of his being material:" — To
these assertions we reply : If HE
were material, a necessary conse-
quence would be that HE is finite,
and that there would be something
equal to him, inasmuch as he in that
respect resembles other matter ;
his power too would be limited :
And all this cannot possibly be the
case with him, as we have already
most clearly demonstrated. In ad-
dition to which «-e go on to say, that
nothing material can impart motion
without being moved ; that this
being moved is caused by some ex-
ternal impulse ; which, in order not
to require the same aid from any
other external agent in endless pro-
gression, must be immaterial ; the
consequence of which is, that this
immaterial impulse which imparts
motion without being moved is the
BEING whose existence is inherent,
absolute, and unconditional. 3. That
lie is independent of time, is likewise '
self-evident ; otherwise he could
not be the First Cause of universal
production, as time would have pre
ceded his eternity, and there would
consequently be something external
to him, which had not required, a
Producer. Were we to assume that
his eternity is co-eval with time,
then his existence is no longer in-
herent, absolute, and unconditional,
witii'.n himself, as he never was in-
dependent of time ; which thus
would become entitled to a duration

without commencement, or eternity,
which can only be assigned to the
Deity. The same case occurs with
respect to the future or the duration
of eternity: For, if his existence
is not endless, it becomes possible
that it may cease and no longer be :
And whatever can by any possibility
cease and no longer be, is not pos-
sessed of inherent, absolute, and
unconditional existence. Conse-
quently, as He is possessed of such
existence, his Being continues un-
impaired, although time should
cease, as it was before time com-
menced. Lastly : His perfection
is self-evident ; as, were he defective
in any respect, he would require a
something to cure that defect, and
thus would be no longer inherent,
absolute, and unconditional.

CHAPTER VII.

OUT of these four chief branches,
which spring from the first essential
principle, " the existence of the
Deity," several other boughs spread
forth. From " the Unity ot God," re-
sults,— that we must abstain from as-
signingtoHiM any qualification, such
as wisdom, power, goodness, and the
like ; because in the sense we un-
derstand them, they could not form
so many additions to his essence :
And as the Deity is a perfect and
absolute unity, it is impossible that
he can have any such qualifications
either essentially or accidentally ; as,
in either case, they would consti-
tute plurality, and deprive him of
his Unity.

From the second branch, " that
he is immaterial and not possessed
of material faculties," results, — that
we must abstain from assigning to
him affections that are caused by
corporeal conformation, such as
wrath, joy, grief, revenge, and the
like ; all of which are corporeal,
and consequently can have no rela-
tion to him.

From the third branch, " that he
is independent of time," results, —
that his power and duration are infi-
nite, and that consequently no possi-
ble comparison can be raised or
established between him and any of
his creatures. As all derive their
origin from him, they must all be

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

107

finite ; and, being finite, they must
bear a relation to, and consequently
have a dependence on, time ; where-
as He, (blessed be HE !) as their
Producer, is infinite, and therefore
eternal, or bearing no relation to,
and consequently independent of,
time. Accordingly the prophet says,
in the name of the Lord, " I am the
first and I am the last, and beside
me there is no God." (Isaiah xliv.
6.) " To whom then will ye liken
me or shall I be^ equal, saith the
Holy One ? Lift Tip your eyes on
high, and behold who hath created
these ? who calleth forth their hosts
according to number : He calleth to
them all by name ; from the great-
ness of his po.ver, and mighty
strength, not one of them faileth."
(Isaiah xl. 25, 26.)

From the fourth branch, " his
perfection," results, — that we must
abstain from applying to him any
epithet that appears derogatory to
that perfection, as weariness, weak-
ness, and the like.

Perhaps the question may arise,
why we have only enumerated these
four chief branches and their boughs,
and have not particularized among
them, that He (.blessed be HE !) is
wise and omnipotent, and has voli-
tion, in the same manner as we
dwelt on his Unity; or that we
have nut stated, that He is infinite,
true, and blessed, as well as stating
that He is independent of time?
The answer to this question neces-
sarily results from what we have
already demonstrated, as all these
form part of, and are comprised in,
the four chief branches we have
enumerated. As, for instance, that
He has volition, is wise, omnipotent,
just, and righteous, faithful, gracious,
mighty, merciful, bounteous, and
more attributes of a similar kind
requisite to form perfection, are all
included in the last branch, as we
say, " He is perfect." That HE
(blessed be HE!) requires no dis-
tinction, is not subject to accident,
has no gender, and is not in space,
are all comprehended under the first
branch, his Unity. That he is true,
is likewise there understood : as, in-
deed, the word true, when applied
to him, has no other signification
than that his existence is in himself
p 2

alone ; which we intend, God will-
ing, here \fter, more fully to demon-
strate. Thus all qualities that can
be attributed to him, or those others
which we are to abstain from assign-
ing to him, are to be classed under
these four chief branches ; and undtr
one or other of these they are cer-
tain to find either a positive or ne-
gative reason. Our intention is, fully
to explain each of these four branches,
and what appertains to each, separate-
ly and by itself : But, previous to our
doing so, it behoves us to examine
in what manner we can, with pro-
priety, attribute to Him (blessed be
HE !) any or all of the qualifications
which we have above enumerated.

CHAPTER VIII.

IT does not require much research
to arrive at the conclusion, that
qualities, attributed in consequence
to an agent, do not necessarily re-
quire any plurality in the essence .of
such agent ; as it is possible that
many different and even contrary
effects may be produced by the same
agent. The case is the same by ei-
ther order of agents, — by him,
namely, who works from inherent
necessity, as well as by him who
acts according to will and intention.
An instance of the first order of
agents is fire : It dissolves some sub-
stances, whilst it hardens others ; it
boils, it burns, it blackens, and
brightens. From these varying ef-
f<-cts, he that is unacquainted with
the nature of fire might be led to
infer, that it is possessed of six dif-
ferent powers, as he would ask,
" How can opposite results be pro-
duced by the same power ? " Where-
as he who H acquainted with the
nature of fire, knows that the acting
power is always one and the same,
namely, heat, but that its effects
vary, according to the difference of
the objects that are submitted to its
activity. An instance of the second
order of agents is man, who, by
means of one power, intellect, will
likewise produce different and con-
trary effects. He can acquire wis-
dom or industry, make discoveries
or govern nations, break and repair,
build and demolish, and undertake
many other differing and opposi e
enterprises, although he is but one ;

108

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE KABBIES.

and it would never be maintained,
that the.se various effects of his intel-
lectual power pre-suppose a necessary
plurality. Thus likewise animation
causes different effects, as nutrition,
growth, sensation, and the effects of
volition, desire, and reflection.

Philosophers, however, have not
liy these various effects b^en induced
to consider the soul as composite.
But that some of them have been
induced to advance that opinion, is
owing to the circumstance, that
growth has been found by itself in
the vegetable kingdom, sensation by
itself in animals, and intellect by it-
self in the superior intelligences;
which has induced some physicians
to assert, that there are three souls
in man ; although this opinion is
erroneous, and it is proved that the
soul is one, however iranifold the
effects it produces.* He therefore who
does not understand the powers of
the human soul will, perhaps, assign
its differing effects to different
causes; whilst he who is better ac-
quainted with these powers will
know, that, though the soul is but
one, and no plurality can be assigned
to it, yet its effects are various and
even contrary : So that, though it be
said of a man that he caused such a
place to be destroyed, and such other
place to be built and inhabited, that
he discovered such a land, or in-
vented such a science, all these dif-
ferent acts do not of necessity require
any plurality in the essence of this
intellectual agent. If such is the
case with agents of an inferior de-
gree, whose powers are within the
grasp of our reason, how much
greater is the likelihood that the
power of producing various and con-
trary effects should be possessed by
that Supreme Being, who is the First
Cause of all effects, as well of ne-
cessary as of intentional ones !

Accordingly we maintain, that, al-
though we perceive the manifold,
various, and contrary effects and
operations emanating from .Him,
(blessed be HE !) still it does not by
any means follow, that there is or
should be any plurality in his es-

* As the reasoning adduced by our au-
thor in support of the last opinion is a mere
trau -.-ript of that made use of by Maimo-

sence. And though this enables the
reflecting searcher to attribute to
the Deity the various qualifications
apparent by means of these different
effects;— whether their differences
arise from the various objects which
they influence, such as the power of
causing vegetation displayed in the
the vegetable kingdom, and of caus-
ing animation evinced in animals,
or from the contrary influence they
exercise on the same object , — never-
theless it is certain that no plurality
can be supposed in His essence. We
see, for instance, that life emanates
from Him, and is imparted to all
animate beings ; we thence conclude
that he is alive, not that he is com-
posed of different lives. For, say
we, as all life emanates from Him,
He must be its Source and Origin.
In like manner we say, "Light is
with Him," as we see that it is by
His light we are enlightened, and
that he bestows the power of be-
holding the light by causing sight
to proceed from possible into actual
operation. As the sacred Singer
says, " Should he that gave the ear
not hear ? Should he that formed
the light not see ? " (Psalm Ixxiv. 9.)
\Ve also call Him wise, because we
perceive effects emanating from Him
with wonderful wisdom and order ;
which demonstrate that there must
be in Him the most perfect wisdom.
In th:s manner we may assign ^to
Him the qualifications which are
evidenced by the different effects he
produces, without therefore imput-
ing to Him any plurality in His es-
sence. In like manner we may as-
cribe to Him the different relations
which exist between Him and the
various objects submitted to His
agency, as it is said in common par-
lance, " God is near to a man," or,
" He is far from a man." Thus
Holy Writ says, " The Lord is near
the contrite;" (Psalm xxxiv. 19 ;) and
again, " Far distant is the Lord from
the impious." (Prov. xv. 2Q.) The
proximity or distance which is here
mentioned, is not in the Deity, but
in man, and results from the relation
in which he has placed himself to-

nides iuhi.s Sckmona Perakvm, we refer our
readers to the first chapter of that Treatise
in the present Number, page 110.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE HABBIE9.

iog

wards his Creator : As our Rabbies,
of blessed memory, say, when they
expound Exodus xxxi. 6, The Lord !
The Lord ! " I am the Lord before
man commits any sin : I am the
the same after the sin has been com-
mitted.'' Their meaning is, the
change wrought by sin is confined
to man only ; and the relation be-
tween him and his Creator is differ-
ent before he transgresses, from
what it becomes afterwards. Thus a
tree is said at one time to be near a
man, at another to be distant from
him; at one time to his ritjht hand,
and at another to his left ; still it is
cot the tree which has changed its
position, but the man, whilst the tree
remains stationary ; however our ha-
bits of parlance may vary its position.
When it is said, The Lord (blessed
be HE!) is the Creator, the King,
the Master, and more epithets of a
similar kind ; these, however multi-
tudinous, will as little imply plurality
in his essence as our saying of any
man, " Reuben is the son of Jacob,
the brother of Simeon, the father of
Hanoch, the companion of Xaphtali,
the proprietor of a certain house,
and the owner of such a field." All
these epithets do not imply any plu-
rality in Reuben, but result from
the different relations in which he
stands towards the various persons
and things which we have enume-
rated, as connected with him : And,
therefore, when we say, " TheDeity
has volition : Is the Creator omni-
potent and omniscient? " our inten-
tion is not to say that He has one
quality by which he wills, another by
means of which He creates, a third
by means of which he knows, and a
fourth by means of which He is
powerful ; as little could it ever
be our intention to maintain,
that He created the elements by
means of one quality, the astral
world by a second, angels by a third,
aiid man by a fourth quality; be-
cause when we say, " He is the
Creator of all these various beings,"
it does not imply any plurality in
him. Accordingly, whether the
Deity be described by the various
qualities evidenced from effects ac-
cording to their various influence
on different objects, or from the
effects abstractedly,- or from the

various relations to him in which
different objects stand, the conclu-
sion remains invariably and decided-
ly the same, that all such qualities
do not of necessity imply or pre-
suppose plurality in his essence ; but
can only be considered as due to
Him in virtue of the perfection re-
sulting from his inherent, absolute,
and unconditional existence. Thus
the law and the prophets attribute
such various qualities to the Deity.
But whether it be possible that he
can be designated by various quali-
ties in consequence of his ONVU
essence, is a question that demands
our careful investigation.

CHAPTER IX.

THE qualities which are attributed
to any being are not that being it-
self, but a something attained by it.
The manner of such attainment is
two-fold ; either intrinsic or acci-
dental. When we, for instance,
say, " Tde animal is alive," the qua-
lity " life " is intrinsic to the animal :
In fact, what we did say is only tan-
tamount to the expression, " The
animal is an animal," which without
life it cannot be. " Life " is, there-
fore, merely an explanatory term,
appended to the noun substantive
" animal," but does not form any
addition to its essence. Accordingly
it might be supposed that it is pos-
sible to attribute to the Deity such
qualities, as they do not add to his
essence ; and the plurality of epi-
thets does not imply any plurality
in him, but only tend to facilitate
the proper understanding of his
essence. As when we say, " An
animal is material, nourished, and
sensitive," these different epithets
do not confer any plurality on the
animal. But such supposition would
be erroneous ; and it therefore be-
hoves us to know, thitt it is impos-
sible to attribute to the Deity any qua-
lity or qualities which can be said to
appertain to his essence : For,
could that be done, the Deity would
be composite of two things, — His
essence, and wLat appertains to that
essence. Whereas we have already
repeatedly declared and proved, that
the Deity is an absolute Unity.
That the Holy One (blessed be HE !)
has certain qualities that are acci-

110

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

dental to him, is equally impossible ;
as every accident must have a cause,
and cannot therefore be absolute.
If, then, the Deity is the cause of the
accident, his inherent, absolute, and
unconditional existence would no
longer be in himself, but in the acci-
dent; and as an accident may possibly
be or not be, the Dtity would become
a composite of ab-solute and possi-
ble existence, partly producer and
partly produced ; which altogether
forms a series of contradictions so
very glaring as to require no refuta-
tion. But if his inherent, absolute,
and unconditional existence is not
in the accident, then there are either
two being.--, alike possessing such
existence, — Himself and the acci-
dent ; or one . Being composed of
essence and accident; both of which
suppositions must be entirely re-
jected.

Thus, then, it remains proved,
that no qualities, either intrinsic or
accidental, can possibly be attributed
to the Divine essence ; and we are
therefore to abstain from assigning

any such to him. But nevertheless
it is absolutely necessary that some
explanatory expressions should be
used, in order to acquire some idea
of his inherent, absolute, and un-
conditionalexistence. Such an expres-
sion is UNITY; although this attri-
bute itself proves, whilst it enhances,
the difficulty of ascribing any qua-
lity to him : For the term " unity "
is itself an addition to any substan-
tive. Thus, when we say, " Reuben
is one," this word " one " is an ad-
dition to his essence : For if Unity
were intrinsic to him only, how
could a tree, or a horse, or any other
substantive be one, whilst unity is
intrinsic to Reuben only? Conse-
quently " Unity" is an addition to
essence: And the question therefore
is, " How can we say the Deity is
one, since this quality is an addition
to his essence ? " After we shall
have 8ati>factorily solved this diffi-
culty, it will become possible to ex-
plain in what manner any quality or
qualities can be attributed to the
HOLY ONE, — (blessed be HE !)

(To be continued.)

IV. MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

, Schmonah Peraldm Lerambam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAIMONIDES.

CHAPTER I.

KNOW that the soul of man is sin-
gle in its essence ; but its faculties
are manifold. Some philosophers
have called each of these faculties a
distinct soul ; which has given rise
to the opinion that man has many
Kouls. This, opinion has been adopt-
ed by some physicians ; so that even
their prince,* in the introduction to
one of his works, assumes three dis-
tinct souls in man. 1. The natural, or
animation. 2. The sensitive 3. The
intellectual. Others have called the
soul's faculties " parts of the soul ;"
an expression frequently employed
by philosophers : Not that they there-
by intend to imply that the soul is
capable of being divided, as the body
is ; but that they consider these dif-
ferent faculties as parts of an entire-
ty, the union of which forms and
composes the soul.

* Hippocrates.

Know furthermore, that, in order
to acquire and promote moral per-
fection, it is requisite to maintain a
healthful state of the soul and of its
faculties. And as it is necessary
that the physician who undertakes
to cure the ailments of the body
should have a perfect knowledge of
the various corporeal parts, and be
no less acquainted with the causes
that lead to disease, in order to guard
his patient against their influence,
than with the means of counteract-
ing that influence, in order to restore
health ; so likewise must the spi-
ritual guide, who undertakes the
cure of souls and the establishing of
sound moral principles, be intimately
conversant with the soul and its fa-
culties, in order that he too may
know how to prevent and to remove
disease, and how to maintain health.

In order to acquire that intimate
knowledge, we commence by saying •.

MORALITY OF THF RABBIES.

Ill

The faculties of the soul are as fol-
low : 1. Nutrition, which is likewise
called "growth." 2. Sensation. 3.
Imagination. 4. Desire. 5. Reason.
We have already premised, that our
present investigation is limited to
the soul of man ; for his faculty of
nutrition is not like that of the horse
or the ass. Man thrives through the
faculty of nutrition in the human
soul ; whilst the ass thrives by that
in the asinine soul, and the eagle by
that which is peculiar to its soul.
And although we apply the same
expression, ("nutrition,") indiscrimi-
nately to all beings, nevertheless its
operation is not, by any means, the
same. In the same indiscriminate
manner we use the term "sensation "
of all animate beings ; not that the
sensations of man are the same as
those of other animate beings, or
the feelings of one species are ex-
actly like those of any other. But,
as each distinct species has its pecu-
liar soul, the faculties of each spe-
cies of soul must be peculiar to it-
self. And though^ a similarity ob-
servable in the operation of these
peculiar and distinct faculties might
induce us to class them together, as
resulting from the same species of
soul, our doing so would be an error,
as such is not the case.

In order to illustrate what we have
here stated, we offer the following
example : Three dark places become
illumined, one by the light of the
sun, the second by that of the moon,
the third by that of a taper. In each
of these places the operation of the
light produces the same effect, name-
ly, the dispelling of darkness. Never-
theless, the operating cause is, in
each place, different and distinct ;
being, in the one, the sun, in the se-
cond the moon, and in the third a
taper. Such likewise is the case
with the cause of sensation ; which,
in man, is the human soul, in the
ass the asinine soul, and in every in-
dividual species of animals its own
peculiar soul. Nor is there any
thing in common to them except the
name, which, as we said before, is
indiscriminately applied. This il-
lustration is most important, as many
philosophers have fallen into errors
on the subject, which necessarily led
to paradox and unfounded opinions.

To return to our subject, the fa-
culties of the human soul : We say,
NUTRITION- is the faculty to lead the
particles of nourishment into the
stomach, to retain them until they
are fully digested, to perform the
functions of digestion and of evacua-
tion, to cause growth and procrea-
tion, and completely to separate the
nutritive and useful juices which are
retained, from all others which must
be expelled. How and in what man-
ner does this sevenfold faculty per-
form its operations ? In which mem-
bers of the human body is the opera-
tion most visible or perceptible?
Which of them are constantly active ?
And which are the others that ope-
rate only at certain times ? All these
questions appertain to the science of
medicine, and form no part of our
examination.

SENSATION is the well-known five-
fold faculty of seeing, hearing, tast-
ing, smelling, and feeling ; which
last is equally found in all parts of
the boiy, whereas, each of the other
four has its own seat in some parti-
cular part.

IMAGINATION is the faculty, pecu-
liar to man, of recalling sensation* '
or impressions, even after the ob-
jects which caused them are no lon-
ger present, to add or diminish, to
combine or separate, the same ; also
to create from the impressions re-
ceived by the senses that which never
did, and never can, exist. Thus it
creates a ship of iron, navigating the
air ; a man, whose head reaches the
heavens, whilst his feet rest on earth;
a quadruped, which has a thousand
eyes ; and many more similar impos-
sibilities, which it embodies and re-
presents as if they were actually ex-
isting. Dialecticians have fallen into
a great and pernicious error, when,
on the strength of the generally re-
ceived division of the necessary, the
possible, and the impossible, they
raised a structure of sophisms, and
believed, or led others to believe,
that all the creations of the imagina-
tion are possible ; and did not con-
sider that this faculty itself is none
other than the unlimited power of
giving existence to what is not, and
cannot be.

DESIRE is the faculty of wishing
or declining ; which occasions active

112

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

appropriation or reprobation, the
preference or choice of a thing or its
refusal ; and likewise anger or affec-
tion, fear or valour, cruelty or ten-
derness, love or hatred, and the like
affections of the soul. All parts of
the human body are subservient to
this faculty ; the hand, to receive or
push away ; the feet, to walk ; the
eye, to behold ; the heart, to encou-
rage the valiant, or to fail the timid.
Thus all the members whether inter-
nal or external, are instrumental to
this faculty.

REASON is the faculty, peculiar to
man, of thinking; by means of which
he reflects, acquires wisdom and
knowledge, and decides upon what
is proper or improper. The func-
tions of this faculty are partly active,
partly speculative. Of the former
class are the powers of imitation and
of invention ; of the latter, the power
of contemplating, when applied to
the essential and immutable, which
latter is abstract wisdom. Imitation
comprises the power of learning or
acquiring any science or art, as archi-
tecture, agriculture, navigation, and
many others. Invention comprises
the power of maturely reflecting and

(To be continued.)

deciding whether a thing is practica-
ble or impracticable, and, in the for-
mer case, what mean's are best
adapted to bring it from possible
into actual being. This is what we
found it needful to premise, by way
of introduction to the following
treatise.

This soul, single in itself, but
manifold in its faculties, as we have
above described, is the crude mate-
rial to which reason gives the form.
If this form does not communicate
its impression, all the other faculties
of the soul are vain, and may be
considered as useless. Thus Solo-
mon saith, " Without understanding
the soul is not good." (Proverbs xix.
2.) His meaning is, that unless
reason or understanding has afforded
its impress to the soul, its other
faculties are useless. What can be
said respecting the form, essence,
reason, and its various acquirements,
— as the object of this treatise is
merely ethics, — is with more propri-
ety made the subject of the book on
prophecy, to which we refer; and with
this remark we will close the present
chapter.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

WE have to thank our numerous Correspondents for the complimentary
manner in which they, ALL, are pleased to notice our humble efforts. To
X Y Z, B D, and PHILO VERITAS, we are, however, compelled once more
to declare, that we are not responsible for the opinions of those authors
whose works we translate. All that "we can reasonably be required to
answer for is, the correctness of our translations ; and this responsibility
we by no means wish to evade. But to permit our little Review to become
an arena for polemical wrestlers, and to exchange our office of INTERPRE-
TERS for the character of COMBATANTS, is a consummation which it is our
determination, as it is our duty, to avoid. In reference to this point we
must beg leave to repeat what we declared to be our intention, in the first
" Notice to Correspondents," No. 3, page 47.

We agree with A, that historical and grammatical subjects ought not to
be excluded from our Publication ; and though neither one nor the other
entered into our original plan, yet as we do not doubt their being interest-
ing to most of our readers, his suggestions will meet with every attention.

H. O'B. must pardon our decidedly refusing his proposal.

Many thanks to AMICUS for his suggestions, which, as far as practicable,
shall not be lost sight of. His liberal and truly religious principles com-
mand our respect.

LONDON : — Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Squarc.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

NINETEENTH DAY OF CHESVAN, 5595.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1834.

I. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

llT'O JV12 THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION.

THE Sabbath naturally directs our
attention to the covenant of circum-
cision. This commandment, too, is
called Mltf, "a sign or token," and
. 1 nifct, "sign or token of the
Covenant : " As it is said, " Ye shall
circumcise the foreskin of your flesh :
and it shall be a token of the cove-
nant between me and you." (Genesis
xvii. 11.) It is of the very first im-
portance ; accordingly we find in the
Talmud, (Treatise Xedarim, folio 34,)
" II. Me;r saith, ' .Most important is
circumcision : though Abraham was
virtuous ailfl pious, served God and
observed his commandments, he was
not called PERFECT until circumcision
was bestowed on him : As it is
said, Walk before me and be perfect :
and I will erect my cortnant between
me and thee.1 (Genesis xvii. 1, 2.) R.
Simeon saith, ' Most important is
circumcision, as it is equivalent to
all the commandments of the law :
For it is said, This is the blood of the
covenant which the Lord has made with
you, concerning all these things.' (Exod.
xxiv. 8.)"

It would be a vain effort on our
parts, fully and minutely to detail the
reasoning and illustrations by which
the Rabuies prove the importance
and sublime purpose of circumcision :
and the manner in which they prove
that by it alone Abraham acquired
perfection ; as these elucidations are
too profound and abstruse, and can-
not therefore be submitted to the
general reader, who might consider
them as not in unison with the spirit
of the present age. We must there-
fore content ourselves with a few
superficial remarks ; which will,
however, we trust, give our readers
some additional information on this
subject.

The Divine command on which it

is founded is solemn, impressive, and
accompanied with a denunciation,
the first of its kind we meet with in
Holy Writ : As it is said, " And
when Abraham was ninety-nine years
old, the Lord appeared to Abram
and said to him, ' I am almifihtyGod ;
walk before me and be perfect : and
I will establish my covenant between
me and thee, and I will multiply thee
exceedingly.' And Abram fell on
his face ; and God spoke further to
him and said : ' I ain ! behold my co-
venant is with thee, and thou shall
become a father of many nations.
Thy name shall no longer be called
Abram but ABRAHAM, for I have ap-
pointed thee a father of many na-
tions. I will make thee exceedingly
fruitful, I will turn thee into na-
tions, and kings shall descend from
thee. And I will erect my covenant
between me arid thee and thy seed
after thee, to their generations, as
an everlasting covenant, that I am
GOD unto thee and to thy seed after
thee. And I will give unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee, the land
of thy sojourn, the whole land of
Canaan, for an everlasting posses-
sion ; and I will be their God.' And
God said further unto Abraham,
' And thou shalt therefore observe
my covenant, thou, and thy seed
after thee to their generations. This
is my covenant, which ye shall ob-
serve, between me and you, and be-
tween thy seed after thee : Every
male child among you shall be cir-
cumcised. Ye shall circumcise the
flesh of your foreskin ; and it shall
be in token of the dvenant be-
tween me and you. When he is
eight days old, every male among
you shall be circumcised to all your
generations ; those who are born in
your house, or those who may be

114

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

purchased with money from any
strangers who are not of thy seed.
He must surely be circumcised who
is born in thy house or is purchased
with thy money : and my covenant
shall be in your flesh, as an ever-
lasting covenant. And the uncir-
cumcised male, who shall not cir-
cumcise &the flesh of his foreskin,
that soul shall be cut off from his
people. He has broken my Cove-
nant.'" (Genesis xvii. 1-14.) The
observance of the command, thus
emphatically given to Abraham, was
but twice interrupted ; the first time,
during the bondage of the Israelites
in Egypt ; the second, during their
wanderings in the desert : As we
find in Bereshit/i Rabbah, (Chapter
46,) " R. Phineas said, in the name of
R. Levy, 'Abraham fell twice en
his face, denoting his foreknowledge
that the covenant of circumcision
would twice be interrupted: 1. In
Egypt : 2. In the Desert. In Egypt
they were uncircumcised, but Mo-es
afterwards caused the rite to be per-
formed on them ; as did Joshua on
their children, who, during the wan-
derings in the Desert, had remained
uncircumcised."

The importance of circumcision
arises from two principal causes.
The First is, that, as the Talmud
says, in accordance with the text of
Holy Writ, "Abraham was not con-
sidered as PERFECT, until the cove-
nant of circumcision was afforded to
him." In like manner it is indis-
pensably necessary to his descend-
ants, in order to attain that great
end and aim of our being, — perfec-
tion, that every in dividual among them
should be circumcised. The Second
is, that, as circumcision is the token
of the Covenant, appointed by the
Deity, obedience is due to a com-
mandment, the infringement of
which breaks that covenant, and calls
forth a dire denunciation.

We would not at all have alluded
to the first of these causes, — as the
second is amply sufficient, and divine
commandments are subjects of obe-
dience, not of ratiocination, — but for
the twofold direction of the com-
mand itself, which renders it impe-
rative on the parent to cause the rite
to be performed ; or, should the pa-
rent have neglected it, this duty

then devolves on the man himself.
If the merit of this observance con-
sisted in obedience only, it would,
like all other enactments of Holy
Writ, be left to the free will of the
man on whom it operates, to perform
or to decline it, according to the dic-
tates of his volition. But as circum-
cision, and that on the eighth day,
has a further merit, namely, that to
the seed of Abraham (the Israelites)
there can be no perfection without
it, and as thus its importance com-
mences at a time, when the helpless
state of him that is operated on pre-
cludes free-will and the merit of obe-
dience; it is a duty incumbent on the
parent to secure that means of per-
fection to his offspring. This seems
to be the sense of the discourse in
Bereshith Rabbah, (chap, xiv.) be-
tween R. Hoshaiah and a heathen
philosopher, who asked of the for-
mer : "If circumcision is thus pre-
cious and important, why was it not
bestowed on Adam ? " R. Hoshaiah
retorted, " Why do we cut the hair
off our heads and not cftr beards ? "
The philosopher answered: "Be-
cause those are grown in the folly of
our childhood ; whilst the beard is
the production of our riper years."
R. Hoshaiah replied: "Were this
reason the true one, our hands, feet,
or other members ought likewise to
be cut off. For they too are grown
in the folly of our childhood." The
philosopher retorted : " This has no
connection with my question, from
which we are altogether digressing."
R. Hoshaiah answered : " To dismiss
thee without any instruction would
be unbecoming. I therefore only say,
acids must be mitigated ; wheat must
be ground ; and man, too, must un-
dergo preparation." It appears the
Rabbi, in the first instance, refused
him any explanation ; as he did not
consider the philosopher capable of
conceiving the profound reasons
which can be given : and he there-
fore points out to him the folly of
questioning Divine commands, when
he cannot truly account for a fashion
which is but of human origin. But
as this did not induce the philoso-
pher to desist from his pertinacious
questioning, the Rabbi, whilst he
admits that it would be improper
to dismiss him without any in-

SPIBIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOX.

struction whatever, limits the in-
formation he affords to the mere
remark, that man needs preparation.
\\V, too, will follow the example
which R. Ilbshaiah has left us, and
not obtrude on the philosophic ques-
tioner of the present day the pro-
found motives which dictated the
command to Abraham, but will con-
tent ourselves with a few observations
in elucidation of the Rabbi's words :
" .Man must undergo preparation/'

We concede that this appears to
be no reply to the question proposed :
For if man is required to undergo a
preparation, why was that prepara-
tion not afforded to Adam ? But the
meaning of the philosopher's ques-
tion was, " How can man improve
the creation of his God, who, had he
considered circumcision so precious
and important to human perfection,
would have created Adam according-
ly ?" The reply of the Rabbi had the
following meaning: "Adam came per-
fect from the hands of hisMaker:Had
he preserved that state of perfection,
there would, indeed, have been no
occasion for man's undergoing any
preparation. But as he did not
do so, man needs preparation in
order to mitigate his acerbities."
By PERFECTION is meant moral per-
fection. We do not intend to define
the fall of Adam ; but one fict is
universally agreed in — namely, that
before his transgression he was pure
and innocent, so that those appetites
which at present degenerate into
sinful desires, were then ennobled
by innocence and free from passion.
Subsequently he became corrupted
by the sway of the passions ; and the
proof of their sinfulness is shame.
Therefore, Holy Writ teaches, that,
before their transgression, " they
\vgre both naked, the man and his
wife, and they were not ashamed."
(Genesis ii. 25.) But when disobe-
dience of the divine command strip-
ped them of the innocence and
purity in which they were clothed,
sin engendered its consequence —
shame ; as we are told, " And the
eyes of both were opened, and they
discovered that they were naked."
Therefore when summoned into the
Divine presence, Adam says, " I
was afraid, because I am naked : "
which calls forth the rebuke, " Who

told thee thou wert naked ? " (Gen.
iii. 7, 10, 11.) "What is become
of that innocence which ennobled
thee, and was too pure to admit of
shame ? " As thus sin banished pure
innocence from Adam and his de-
scendants, the Divine command of
circumcision comes in aid of our
fallen nature, and to enable man to
regain perfection. Tnus the sons
of Jacob said to Shechem, "We
cannot do this thing to give our sis-
ter to one that is uncircumcised
1:7 svin ns-n"^ for this is a
shameful disgrace unto us." (Gen.
xxxiv. 14.) Their meaning could
not be, that it would be a disgrace
to them in the eyes of the world,
were they, the only circumcised
family then in existence, to give their
sister to one, who, in this respect,
resembled the great mass of man-
kind : But as they wished to impress
him with the importance and advan-
tage of this observance, as contri-
buting to human perfection ; they
prove the sinfulness of the pas-
sions by citing the shame which
attends their indulgence.

As we said be-fore, it is a duty in-
cumbent on the parent to cause the
rite of circumcision to he performed
on his offspring. In addition to its
being the covenant established by
the Deity, it is l.ke\v;se symbolic of
what is due to ail the command-
ments of reliaion ; namely uncon-
ditional obedience, although human
reason may not fathom their cause.
Self-conceit would (as in the present
day it actually does) cavil at the
performance of this duty; and start
the question, " What right have pa-
rents to force their helpless babes
into a Covenant, and impose on
them a religious system, independent
of their inclination, will, and con-
sciousness?" We could, in reply,
retort by asking, "What right had
Abraham, the father of circumcision,
to bind his son on the aliar, and to
take up a knife with the fixed in-
tention to slay him?" The answer
to both questions is the same : The
right is conferred by the command
of the Deity, the great Lord of life
and being, whose justice is equalled
by his mercy, who commands nought
but what is really conducive to our
true good, however little the blind-
Q 2

116 CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

fold researches of human reason can command all other considerations

conceive his motives. In obedience yield ; alike mute is the arrogance

to that command the right is exer- of philosophy and the repugnance of

cised. And we who know, that pity. p«l ^D tDDj? n^tOM *3

"he spoke and it was, he commanded ^van tD^QIDl "For like the sin

and it stood firm ; " that when he of sorcery js rebellion,— like iniquity

said, "Let there be," creation, in all and jdois js perversenes8." (1 Sam.

its glorious variety, was perfect, — xv 23 )

are we to question his command- We stated at the commencement

ments, and reason on the extent of of thjs article that circumcision is

obedience due to him, or of the called niM «a sign or token.» It

rights which that obedient* confers ? has thig llation in comraOn with

Far from us be such presumption. the SabbaJt^ and most probably for

That perfect obedience of which the the game re namd th h

father of the faithful bequeathed us the observance is peculiar to Israel-

his i glorious example, is at least par- . gt it ig not f(£ their gole benefit

tially to be perpetuated in his de- Qn] nor t fo, the mere of

scendants, the sons of Jacob. How- dist7insuis£ing their community from

ever parental tenderness may repine ; ^^ but * ig intended as a sjRn

however the helpless innocent, Qr token tQ &n thfi rations of the

scarcely ushered into the world, may e&rth that the law of Mo8eg ig trul

implore pity by its unconscious cries; the revelation of the Most High ; and

Abraham is to be imitated Despight that Israelites are witne88es to the

the yearnings of the father s heart, factg of tfaat revelation and> in order

the keen edge of the knife initiates tQ be accredited as such, they are

the new-born Israelite into the esta- 8ta d with the indelible seal of

WUhed covenant ; for the Lord of th(J c^v
the universe commands it ; to that

(To be continued.')

> II. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. - NO. III.

IN our last article on this subject we availed ourselves of the assist-
ance and authority of Rabenu Moses bar Maimon (Maimonides) to
acquaint our readers with the circumstantial details of the order in
which the traditions of the oral law were transmitted, and for that pur-
pose submitted to them the preface to his Jad Hacliazaka. We now con-
tinue to use the assistance which the numerous and comprehensive works
of that great author, and his acknowledged critical acumen, have placed
at our disposal ; and, in order to elucidate whatever may have remained
obscure and incomplete in our former article, and also to examine the
various divisions of the Talmud, we introduce to our readers the follow-
ing treatise, which was originally written by Maimonides in Arabic, but
was subsequently, at the request of the Jews of Marseilles, translated
into Hebrew by R. Jehuda ben Solomon Alchophni, called El Charisi, a
native of Spain, who lived in the beginning of the 13th century ; and
though in it our author digresses into an investigation of prophecy, we
trust his remarks on that important subject will be considered of some
interest.

PREFACE TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE, " ZERAIM."
BY MAIMONIDES,

KNOW that every commandment HE !) gave to Moses our teacher,
which the Holy One (blessed be (peace be with him !) was accom-

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

117

panied by its exposition : Fir^t the
commandment was imparted to him,
and then its full and particular elu-
cidation. This was the case with
every thing that is comprised in the
book of the Law. The manner in
which it was communicated to the
Israelites was as the Talmud relates,
(Treatise Erubin, chap, v., fol. 55,)
"Aiter theDivine commandment had
been given to Moses he withdrew to
his tent, and was followed by Aaron,
to whom Moses communicated the
commandment that had been given
to him, and the exposition which ac-
companied the same ; both of which
he taught him. When this was
done, Aaron took his place at the
right hand of Moses. His two
sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, next
entered, and to them Moses repeated
the whole of what he had already
told Aaron, whose sons seated them-
selves, one at the left hand of Moses,
the second at the right hand of
Aaron. The seventy elders were
next ushered in, and to them Moses
recapitulated all that he had said to
Aaron and to his sons. The tent
was then thrown open to the
body of the people, and to every
one who came to seek the Lord.
To them all Moses once more stated
the whole of what he had already
imparted to Aaron, to his sons, and
to the seventy elders ; so that every
one could hear the commandment
and its exposition as it fell from the
lips of Moses. Thus Aaron heard
the instruction, repeated by Moses,
four different times, his sons heard
it thrice, the elders twice, and the
body" of the people once. When
this was done, Aloses retired, and
Aaron repeated the commandment
he had four times heard from
Moses, together with its exposition,
to all who were present ; and when
his sons had thus likewise heard the
commandment four times, namely,
thrice from Moses, and once from
their father ; Aaron also retired,
and was succeeded by his sons ; who
likewise repeated to all who were
present the whole of the command-
ment, together with its exposition ;
upon which they withdrew. The
seventy elders, who in like manner
heard the instruction recapitulated
four times, namely, twice from

Moses, once from Aaron, and once
from his sons, then began to in-
struct those who were present in
the comtriandment and its exposi-
tion ; so that the body of the peo-
ple also heard it four times, namely,
from Moses, from Aaron, from his
sons, and from the seventy elders."
When the congregation dispersed,
the people instructed each other in
what they had heard from the
mouth of Moses, and wrote the
commandments on meyiljfk, or
rolls. The chiefs of the nation
went about to teach the whole peo-
ple of Israel, and to expound to
them the commandment, until the
people acquired a perfect know-
ledge thereof. The commandment
itself was, as we said before, pre-
served in writing; the exposition
was committed to memory, with all
its details and particular explana-
tions. In accordance with this is
the comment of our Rabbies in the
Torath Cohanim, (Levi-icus xxv. 1.,)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses
on Mount Sinai." Why does Holy
Writ, in this particular passage, use
the words "on Mount Sinai" as
the whole of the law was delivered
on that Mount ? It is done to de-
note that, as the law of shrnita (the
agrarian rest of the seventh year)
was given at Mount Sinai, with all
and every the explanations, details,
and particular enactments thereunto
appertaining ; thus, and in like
manner, all and every command-
ment was given at Sinai, accom-
panied by the explanations, details,
and particular enactments thereunto
respectively appertaining." As an
instance, we cite : The Holy One
(blessed be HE !) said to Moses, " In
booths ye shall dwell seven days."
(Leviticus xxiii. 42.) This com-
mandment was written down ; but in
addition thereto, Moses received
from the Deity the full and circum-
stantial explanation which this com-
mandment required. Such as : That
this command is compulsory only
on males, not on females ; that sick
or wayfaring men are exempt from
its observance ; .that the booth
must be thatched with vegetable ma-
terials, but only such as are no
longer in a state of actual vegeta-
tion, nor yet with any manufactured

118

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

article, such as coverlids, or gar-
ments, or vessels, although the raw
material these were made of was
a vegetable ; that it is incumbent
to eat, drink and sleep in the
booth ; that its area must not be
less than seven cubits square, nor
its height less than ten cubits, and
so forth. Thus, and in the like
manner, the whole of the six hun-
dred and thirteen commandments,
togetb.tr with their full and particu-
lar expositions, were delivered to
the Prophet of blessed memory, and
preserved, the commandments in
writing, the expositions by verbal
tradition.

In the fortieth year after their
exit from Egypt, in the eleventh
month (Shevat) on the first of the
month, JNJoses caused the people to
be assembled, and told them, " The
time of my decease is approaching.
If, therefore, any one of you has
forgotten any decision of the law
(halachah) which he has heard, let
him come to me and I will recal and
explain it to him. Whosoever en-
tertains any doubt respecting the
true intent and meaning of any
hcdachah, let him apply to me, and I
will solve it." Such is the com-
mentary of our Rabbies in the book
Siphri, on the words " Moses be-
gan to explain this law." (Deutero-
nomy i. 5.) Thus the Israelites ob-
tained directly from Moses's own
month a full and detailed exposition
of all that appertains to the law, to
which purpose he devoted the time
between the first day of the eleventh
month (Shevat) until the seventh
of the twelfth month (Adar~).
Shortly before his death he com-
menced writing the law on rolls of
parchment, of which he completed
thirteen copies (all in the same
shape as those which we have at
present) from the n bcth of rvumi S
bereshith (the first letter of the first
word in Genesis,) until the b lamed
of btnti^ Israel, (the last letter of
the last word in Deuteronomy,)
(vide Talmud, treatise Bava bathra,
first chapter, folio 15). To each of
the twelve tribes he gave one of
these copies ; in order that they might
live and regulate their conduct in
conformity to his precepts. The

thirteenth he gave to the Levites
whom he bade, " Take this book of
the Law." (Deuteronomy xxxi. 26.)
He then ascended the Mount Nebo
on the seventh day of Adar, about
noon, (Talmud, treatise Metjilah,
folio 13, and Siphri, division Haaz-
inu,) from whence he returned no
more.

After his departure, (peace be
with him,) and Joshua had entered
into possession of that inheritance
which had been set apart for him,
to become the guardian of the laws,
he made them his constant study,
so that he and his contemporaries
perfectly understood them. And
whatever was transmitted by Joshua
or any one of the elders, is of un-
questionable authority, and has
never been made the subject of dis-
pute or difference of opinion. If
cases arose, to which the precise ap-
plication of the law had not been
heard from the Prophet, they built
their decision on logical conclusions,
in accordance with the thirteen ca-
nons,or principles of logic, which Mo-
ses received on Mount Sinai, for the
purpose of applying them to the
explanation of the law. Of these
decisions there are some to which
all conformed and agreed ; others,
however, are disputed, as different
conclusions were deduced from the
reasonings on which they were
built. In cases where thus a differ-
ence of opinion arose and prevailed,
the decision adopted was that of
the majority ; as it is commanded in
the law, " to incline towards the ma-
jority." (Exodus xxiii. 2.) Know fur-
thermore, that even prophecy does
not avail to expound the law, so as
to depart from the branches of its
commandments as laid down by the
above-mentioned thirteen principles ;
for in the same manner that Joshua
and Phineas were competent, by
means of these principles, to form
decisions built on logical reasoning,
in like manner Rav Abina and Rav
Ashi were competent so to do. If
thou wishest to inquire, " What then
constitutes the preference of the
Prophet and his works, relative to
the observance of any command-
ment and to its exposition?" I assure
thee that this subject is one of the

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL -WRITER?.

119

great and essential principles which
are the !foundation and support of
our religion.

This appears to me a proper op-
portunity to elucidate the above im-
portant principle ; which, however, it
is impossible to do,unless we previous-
ly enumerate the means by which the
pretensions of any prophet can be
legitimated. For this, too, is an im-
portant principle ; the want of due
acquaintance with which has misled
multitudes of human beings.; and
even those few who are gifted with
greater penetration and reflection,
and who refuse to allow the claims
of any prophet, unless he works won-
ders, such as those of our teacher
Moses, of blessed memory, or controls
the ordinary course of nature, like
Elijah, of happy memory, when he
restored to life the son of the widow,
(1 Kings xvii. 22,) or any one of
the miracles performed by Elisha.
(Peace be with him !) But in reality,
this is not essential to a prophet.
For all the wonders wrought by
Elijah, Elisha, or any of the pro-
phets, were not intended for the
purpose of confirming the truth of
their prophetic mission, as this was
already previously acknowledged ;
but those which they performed were
according to what their occasions re-
quired : and as they were in close
and intimate communication with,
the Deity, he performed their desire,
as he has assured the just, " Thou
shalt pronounce thy decree, and he
will confirm it unto thee." (Job
xxii. 2S.) But what really estab-
lishes the claims of the prophet we
shall hereafter elucidate. We will,
however, in the first instance, offer
our remarks on prophecy generally,
whether it be delivered in the name
and authority of idolatrous worship
or in that of the One true God.

The first is properly classed under
two heads, 1. If a prophet should
arise who asserts, " Such a constel-
lation has inspired me and com-
manded me to worship it in such a
manner, or has said, 'Adore me as I
direct, and I will answer thee : '" Or
if the Prophet exhorts mankind to

worship any image or idol, and as-
serts that this idol has directed how
its worship is to be performed, and
that the prophet should issue cer-
tain commands in its name, respect-
, ing any purpose whatever, as was
done by the prophets of Baal and
tho«e of the Groves. (1 Kings xviii.)
2. If the prophet asserts that the
word of God came to him, and
commanded the worship of any idol,
or to exorcise the astral influences,
and that he should proclaim the
rites and ceremonies thereto requir-
ed,— as the law predicts in Deutero-
nomy xiii. 1 ; — this likewise is con-
sidered as a prophecy, in the name
and authority of idols. For, whether
the prophet asserts that he is com-
manded either by the idol, or by the
Deity, that idols should be worship-
ped the aim of his prophecy re-
mains the same. And if two wit-
nesses attest that any man has been
guilty of this crime of idolatrous
prophecy in either of the two ways
we have stated above, his punish-
ment, according to law, is death by
strangulation, as it is commanded,
" Such prophet or dreamer of dreams
shall be put to death." (Deuterono-
my xiii. 5.) Nor is it needful in
siich a case to investigate by what
means the authority of his prophecy
is to be confirmed. \Ve require nei-
ther sign nor miracle to be convinced.
And it he actually performs wonders
the like of which we never heard, in
order to prove his prophetic mission,
his doom remains unalterable,— he
must be put to death, without any
regard being had to the miracles he
has wrought ; — for these take place
because (as the law says) " the Lord
your God proveth you," (Deut. xiii.
3,) — particularly as the opposition of
reason denies the evidence of his
wonders more strongly than the ex-
ercise of our visual powers confirms
them ; as the most perfect evidence
that can be propounded to our rea-
son is the fact that worship or adora-
tion is due, solely, to the One First
Cause who gave existence to all be
ings, and who alone is all perfect.

(To be continued.)

120

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OP THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES : " BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 110.)

CHAPTER x.

WHATEVER is distinct in itself, and
separate from other things, may have
the word " One " applied to it.
Thus we say, " one people : " as the
individuals composing this people
are separate from others -by means
of some peculiarity which forms
them into a distinct body : As, for
instance, the A"rabs hy their religion ;
the Negroes, by their colour ; and
generally, all nations, by means of
their language. The word " one "
is likewise used to denote what is
peculiar to the individual : As, for
instance, " Reuben or Simeon is the
only ONE of the human species."
" The man or the horse is the only
ONE among animals." When the
word is used, as in the last two ex-
amples, it denotes that the indivi-
dual mentioned is possessed of some
distinction peculiar only to itself.
Therefore the application is more
just, when it is said, " Reuben is
one," (although he is composed of
several members, the variety of which
is visible,) than when we speak of the
Arabs as " one people." The just-
ness of the application increases,
when we speak of one member be-
longing to Reuben ; although such
member is composed of various ma-
terials : because it is difficult for the
senses to separate these materials.
The strictness of the application in-
creases when we say, " One pure
element." This the senses cannot
solve into matter and form ; which
composition is assigned to it by rea-
son only. Still more true is the ex-
pression, when applied to a super-
ficies, whichtruth increases when we
say, " One line," as this is a simple
extension, without any addition
either in reality or in idea ; and is
therefore more strictly an unit than
the pure element in which matter and
form may be severed by reason, or
the superficies which is composed of
length and breadth. Accordingly, the
line is distinct from all other objects,
and has no community with any.
Still the line is not a perfect unity.
because it may be either straight or
a curve ; these can be divided and

subdivided ; and each part would
still constitute a line. Its claim to
be an absolute unit are therefore sur-
passed by those of the point ; as this
cannot be divided either in deed or
thought, is distinct from all other
objects, and has no community with
any, except in as far as it must rest
on something. Thus the point is
not an abstract unity ; it must
therefore yield to the numerical
One, which rests on nothing, and
has no community with any other
object whatsoever. Its existence,
however, is not real, but only ideal ;
and in idea we can represent to our-
selves a collection of sued units, as
it is the property of numbers to be
composed of such. Thus the nume-
rical one is not a real unity : So that
no other real, abstract, and absolute
unity can be found throughout the
universe, except GOD, to whom the
word ONE can with the strictest jus-
tice and truth be applied. He is
alone, and unequalled in every re-
spect : So that no other being has
the slightest community with Him,
even in the appellation "Being;"
as we have already proved the im-
possibility of two or more beings,
each possessing inherent, absolute,
and unconditional existence. Nor
is it possible to imagine two or
more beings otherwise than one as
the Producer, and all the rest as his
products.

Having thus proved, that the ap-
pellation "One" does really and
truly appertain to that Being only
who, in every respect, has no com-
munity with all other beings, and is
infinitely beyond the semblance of
equality with any of them ; and hav-
ing moreover demonstrated, by evi-
dence the most conclusive, that He
whose existence is inherent, abso-
lute, and unconditional can neither
have any equal, nor the most remote
community with any other object
whatsoever ; it clearly follows that
the unity which we assign to the
Deity is negative only ; and is not
at all positive, as it means, that
none other is equal to, or co-essen-
tial with, Him. Consequently, unity

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

121

is not an addition to his essence ;
and, accordingly, the Law proclaims :
" Hear, O Israel ! the Lord our God,
the Lord is one ; " (Deut. vi. 4 ;) name-
ly, as the Lord who is irrw, " our
God," is the Producer of all that ex-
ists, and the great First Cause, (and
as such must, as we have fully
proved, be inherent, absolute, and
unconditional,) He is ONE without
any equal. Therefore His unity is
negative, and consequently forms no
addition to His essence.

CHAPTER XI.

ALL beings are either such whose
being is essential in itself, or such
others whose being is composite.
Those of the latter order are all ac-
cidental. Those of the first order
form three divisions or classes: 1.
Material. These are the lowest in
degree. 2. Intellects, or separate in-
telligences, who have no connexion
whatever with matter. The medium
between these two extremes is
formed by, 3. Souls, who have some
connexion with matter. They re-
ceive impression and effect from
intellect, and bestow it on matter ;
they consequently occupy the central
rank between the inferior or matter,
and the superior or intellect. As
thus there is a great diversity of
beings, whose numbers and varieties
are evident, it behoves us to explain
how the First Cause (.who, as we
have already, and to the full satis-
faction of our readers, demonstrated,
is absolute and simple UNITY in the
strictest sense of the word,) can
produce a plurality, as it is a standing
axiom that from one proceeds one.
Many opinions have been held on
this subject, some of themcabbalisti-
cal,* others adopted by the Arab
sages, and some of the wise men of
our own nation. In order to give
and elucidate our o.vn opinion, we
will preface our inquiry with some
remarks on angels.

CHAPTER XII.

CONCERNING the essence of angels
various opinions are entertained by

• The author here enter.-* fully into the

cabbali^tica! system ; but as it is chiefly

.ipituutrioa of what w.? have already

given uud>T th;-.r head, we omit it, aud refer

our readers to page 50.

philosophers and sage divines,
though all conjointly agree in their
existence. Philosophers maintain,
that as angels are solely intellectual,
no plurality can be assigned to them ;
as beings that are immaterial, and
not distinguished by outward form,
cannot be said to be plural : For the
variety of beings is caused either by
the difference of matter, however
subtile, or by that of form. Hence
they conclude, that plurality amongst
angels is caused by the fact that one
is a producer, and another is a pro-
duct. And, according to their asser-
tion, some of our Rabbies likewise
incline towards this opinion, and as-
sert that the numbers of angels are
equal to that of the astral orbits :
And as the number of those orbits,
as far as our observations extend, is
either forty-nine or fifty, the number
of angels must be the same. • Such,
they maintain, was the opinion of
the Talmudists when they asserted
that fifty degrees of understanding
were created ; all of which were im-
parted to .Moses, except one only, as
it is written, " Thou hast made him
a little less O'rvtO than the an.
gels ; " (Psalm viii. 5 ;) and they
called them " degrees of under-
standing," as -each forms a distinct
perception. But this opinion cannot
have been that of our Rabbies of
blessed memory, as it is directly
contrary to the meaning of Holy
Writ : For were these opinions cor-
rect, the consequence would be, that
angels who are sent on missions to
different men, have no real existence,
save in the imagination of such men.
Whereas, according to the sacred
Scriptures, numbers of angels really
exist ; as our Rabbies said when
they expounded the passage : " The
chariots of God are many myriads,
thousands of angels." (Psalm IxviiiJ
17-) And again : " Thousands
thousands ministered unto him, and
ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him." (Daniel vii. 10.)
Thus, likewise, we find that angels,
whose existence is real, are sent to
different men ; as, " He shall give
his angels the charge over thee, to
guard thee in all thy ways."
(Pealm xci. 11.) "The man Ga-
briel, whom I had seen in the
vision, being caused to fly swiftly,

122

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

touched me about the time of the
evening oblation." (Daniel ix. 11.)
" None holdeth with me in these
things but Michael your prince."
(Daniel ix. 21.) These different
quotations prove, that angels are
numerous, and that those sent to
men have a real existence ; and ac-
cordingly these, opinions have been
embraced by all systems of faith.
And, to account for the variety of
these intellectual and immaterial
beings, we say that the distinction
between them is caused by the differ-
ent degrees of understanding they
have attained respecting the Divine
attributes, without any necessity for
their being producer and produced
of and by each other. Accordingly
the epithet "intellectual" apper-
tains to them all collectively ; where-
as each one is distinct through the
degree of his attainments. This
does not assume any plurality in
their individual essence ; for beings
in general are either such as are
composed of what is theirs collec-
tively, and what is their peculiar dis-
tinction, as is the case with man,
composed of life and intellect, (thus
he is really composite and really dis-
tinct,) or such who are only called
" composite " without really being
so ; as colour, which expression
is composed of seeing and what
is seen, and becomes distinct through
the former, (seeing,) but which,
however, forms no plurality in the
essence of the colour. In like man-
ner, although the expression by
which the separate intelligences
called angels are denoted, implies
composition, yet their essence is not
composite ; as even those philoso-
phers, whose opinions we combat,
must confess, that, although angels
be not producer and produced, there
yet may be a distinction between
them in consequence of their various
agencies. We are therefore justified
in maintaining, that the distinction
of their respective individualities
consists in the greater or less degree
they have attained of acquaintance
with the Divine attributes, and ac-
cording to which they are either su-
perior or inferior, and vary in their
powers and agency. For as the ruler
of a state appoints various officers,
whose rank and power differ accord-

ing to their capabilities ; thus like-
wise the Holy One (blessed be HE !) *
has assigned 'to each of the angels
his sphere of action according to the
extent of his knowledge of the Di-
vine attributes. And as these attri-
butes are manifold and infinite, the
necessary consequence is, that these
angels or separate intelligences must
be very numerous and various, ac-
cording to the degrees of knowledge
•they have attained, and of power
that are confided to them, (without
the necessity of their being producers
and produced of and by each other,)
although there is no plurality in their
essence, and they are produced by
the great First Cause, which is abso-
lute UNITY. This is our opinion :
it is the true one, in accordance with
the sacred Scriptures, and with the
researches of reason, as we shall
fully illustrate.
•

CHAPTER XIII.

NUMEROUS and various effects are
owing to one of three causes: 1.
Variety of the powers which are ac-
tively employed : As, for instance,
the effects produced by us through
the power of love vary from those
produced through the force of anger.
2. The variety of the objects sub-
mitted to the agency of one power :
As, for instance, fire, which dissolves
resin, and condenses salt. 3. The
variety of the instruments by means
of which the active power operates :
As, for instance, the needle with
which the tailor sews, and the scis-
sors with which he cuts. These
three different causes, however, to
which the diversity of effects may be
traced, cannot occasion the variety of
effects which are produced by the
Deity. For He (blessed be HE !) is
an absolute unity ; there is no plu-
rality of powers in him ; no variety
in the objects submitted to the agency
of his power, and no diversity of the
instruments by means of which he
operated It may be said that one
other cause yet remains by which we
may account for the plurality and
variety of his productions ; namely,
a progressive medium. As if first
one was produce;], by means of whom
another was called into existence ;
and so on in similar progression. If
this be not the case, the*question is

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

123

obvious, " How or whence does the
variety anr] plurality of creation arise,
as the product of absolute UNITY can
only be one r " But if the case be
such as we stated above, there ought
not in the universe to be any com-
posite of numbers, but each species
of beings ought to be a unit ; and
each unit ought to be the product
of one producer, superior in degree
to itself. Such, however, is not the
case, as we find bodies composed of
matter and form, man composed of
matter and spirit ; the one is not the
cause of being to the other, but they
exist independent of each other.
Consequently this opinion is not te-
nable ; and the question still. remains
unanswered. This difficulty occa-
sioned some of the ancients, and after
them the philosopher Manes, (whose
adherents are called " Manichees,")
to maintain the existence of two first
causes ,one of good, and one of evil ;
as they and he asserted it to be im-
possible that One Cause should pro-
duce contrary effects., such as are
good and evil, under which two
names they comprehended and class-
ed all the varieties of creation. This
opinion, however, has been repu-
diated by sages, from various reasons;
and particularly because mature re-
flection and investigation teach us
that, however various and manifold
are the works of creation, they all
have but one aim and tendency ;
namely, the preservation of the
whole. Such is the wonderful order
which we perceive in the universe ;
resembling the order and discipline
observed by an army, and which pre-
supposes the supreme command of
One Leader ; or the regularity of an
established government, which is
guided by one Supreme Ruler. Al-
though both the army and the go-
vernment are composed of a plurality,
and are under the direction of offi-
cers and magistrates of various de-
grees and powers, yet either army or
government forms but one whole ;
as the aim and tendency of the vari-
ous parts is the same. Thus good
and evil are not the effects of differ-
ent causes ; but collective existence
has but one aim, that which is good;
whereas evil is not one of the objects
intended by the plan of creation, but is
called into momentary existence for the

purpose of punishing and chastising,
in order to promote the good, which
is the general aim of that plan. A
father chastises his son ; and though
the act of chastising in itself is an evil,
yet it is resorted to for the purpose
of promoting good. And as thus
the general purport of all is .to pro-
mote the general good, it is impossi-
ble there should not be an admixture
of individual evil or suffering; which,
however, bears no proportion to the
universal quantum of good. Such
is the case in man, whose being is
composed of an intellectual and a
physical soul ; the former of which
engenders good, the latter evil, de-
sires ; the first is requisite for the
preservation of individual being ;
the second for that of the species,
and without which it would become
extinct. Such is the decree of
Supreme Wisdom, that, amidst the
immensity of general and universal
good, there should be some admix-
ture of evil ,• and our reason can
conceive, that the great preponde-
rance of good constitutes the general
good ; as this admixture, constitut-
ing the state of things as they ac-
tually are, is by far preferable to
their not being at all. For instance,
fire is a great and general good,
which to the inferior beings is alto-
gether indispensable ; nevertheless
it is sometimes the pernicious source
of great calamity. Still, no one
would take upon himself to assert,
that the power of fire is not generally
beneficial. In like manner there are
things which, in themselves, are
evils ; nevertheless they purpose
that which is good. Such are, for
instance, the punishments which le-
gislators and rulers enact in society ;
in themselves they are evil, but be-
come necessary for the general good,
as they preserve the welfare and
tranquillity of society, composed as
it is of various individuals, differing
in rank and occupation ; yet, like
the various members of the human
body, forming but one whole, and
animated by one object. Some
things may be found which are per-
nicious to the human frame, as it is
composed of terrestrial matter ; but
they too are necessary to the whole,
which would be imperfect without
them. Our decided opinion is, that

R2

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

there is but one First Cause ; from
whom all beings, however different,
have their derivation ; that these
have but one regular order and ten-
dency ; that they form a chain com-
posed of links ; and though each of
them has a special purpose, yet all
collectively are subservient to and
promote the great universal aim,
which is the preservation of the.
whole. But as the question, " How
can absolute unity produce plurality
of effects ? " still remains unanswered,
we proceed to say, thia conclusion is
just, and the question proper, when
applied to an agent of limited power.
But the Deity (blessed be HE !) is
the Universal Agent, whose power
is unlimited, and who is so perfectly
universal that the name " Agent,"
although applied to others as well as
to Him, is nevertheless and in reality
peculiar to him alone, and does not
require any distinction, as we have
already illustrated. Consequently,
such a question cannot be applied
to Him, as it is answered by His
omnipotence. Moreover, we call
Him " Agent" only in conse-
quence of His relation to the ef-
fects produced ; and as all these
effects and productions, however dif-
ferent, have but one aim and ten-
dency, they all are in reality but one
effect produced by Him. As the in-
tellectual soul in man, although one
in its essence, operates variously, but
to one purpose, that of self-preserv-
ation. Thus likewise there is only
one purpose proceeding from him,
(blessed be HE!) namely, universal

(To be

order, to preserve which the mani-
fold links in the chain of creation
are absolutely requisite. Those es-
sential beings who are independent
of matter, ascend to the First Uni-
versal Cause, in a gradation so regu-
lated, that, were any one of them want-
ing, such vacuum would disturb the
perfection of that order by means of
which the great aim is at present at-
tained. Thus in the various motions
of the astral orbits, there is in them
all one universal movement, as they
derive from one cause and effect one
purpose. But the whole of their
movements result from His com-
mand, (blessed be HE !) which like-
wise enacts the preservation of the
universe ; not because such preserv-
ation is absolute and imconditional,
(as it is impossible to think that a
pure absolute Intelligence could pro-
duce absolute and unconditional
matter,) but because such is his
will. The result of all we have said
is, that the endless variety of the
works of creation arises from the
progressive medium ; but not from
any plurality in the First Cause,
whose unity is perfect and absolute ;
and therefore the sacred Scriptures
proclaim to us : " Hear, O Israel,
the Lord thy God, the Lord is One 1"
That is to say, although he is the
God of all the many beings that he
has created, He nevertheless is OJNE.
We will now turn our attention to
the second branch of the first essen-
tial principle ; namely, that the
Deity is immaterial and not pos-
sessed of material faculties.

continued,')

IV.

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

Schhmonah Perakim Lerambam.

CHAPTER II.

WHICH FACULTIES OF THE SOUL ARE
THE SEAT OF GOOD OR BAD QUA-
LITIES.

Kxow that the active observance
or transgression of the Law * origi-
nates from two faculties of the soul

* The Lnir means " the divine Law,''
as revealed to Moses.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAIMON1OES.
(Continued from page 112.)

only ; sensation and desire; in which
alone they have their seat. The
faculties of nutrition and imagination
do not give rise either to observance
or transgression, as in these there is
neither action nor voluntary inten-
tion ; that is to say, man cannot, by
the mere act of his will, alter the
operation, or modify the effects, of

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

either of these faculties. This is
proved by the fact, that both continue
their active functions when man is
asleep, and cannot, by means of his
will, exercise any control over them,*
which is not the case with any other
of his faculties. Respecting the fa-
culty of Reason, opinions are di-
vided ; we believe that it, too, origi-
nates observance and transgression,
in as far as it regulates true or mis-
taken faith. But as it does so, not
by means of action, but through re-
flection only, our first assertion re-
mains correct, that sensation and
desire alone are the active agents of
transgression and observance.

Mental perfections are twofold :
moral and intellectual ; mental de-
fects likewise come under these two
classes. From intellectual perfec-
tions are derived, 1. Wisdom, or the
knowledge of things in their nearer
or remote causes. 2. Understanding,
or the power of perception and in-
vestigation, resulting from innate
impressions. 3. Penetration, or ra-
pid perception and comprehension.
4. The harmony of the reasoning
powers. 5. Their purity. These,
however, form no part of our present
research, further than to say that
the want of either of these is an in-
tellectual defect.

Moral perfections are derived en-
tirely from the faculty of desire, to
which that of sensation is subordi-
nate. They are of different kinds :
1. Abstemiousness, or the careful
eschewing of sin. 2. Generosity. 3.
Honesty. 4. Meekness. 5. Humi-
lity. 6. Contentedness, which our
Rabbies call " wealth," when they
say, " Who is truly wealthy ? He
who is contented with his lot." 7.
Valour, or fortitude. 8. Faithful-
ness : And many other virtues that
are akin to these. Moral defects are

* When Maimonides speaks of irn
tion as independent of control, and therefore
not participant in observance or transgres-
sion, he assuredly does not mean such ideal
representations or impressions as man has
the power of raising or leaving dormant ; as
respecting these his assertion, that imagi-
nation is independent of control, and the
proof which he adduces from its activity
during sleep, would be equally incorrect.
Maimonides, however, considers these ideal
representations, as the oflspring of the fa-
culty of desire ; for as man has the power

caused either by the absence of these
virtues or by their excess ; as abste-
miousness may degenerate into apa-
thy ; generosity, into profusion ;
meekness and humility, into mean-
ness and fawning ; valour and forti-
tude, into temerity and obstinacy ;
and contentedness, into indolence.
Thus the excess to which virtue is
carried, and the abuse to which it
consequently is liable, become a real
defect or vice.

In the faculties of nutrition and
imagination there is no room for
such perfections or defects ; although
in common parlance it is correctly
said, "The nutritive functions are
properly or improperly performed."
" Such an one has a good or a bad
digestion." Or, " He has 'a good,
(lively) or a bad (dull) imagination."
But all these are mere adjectives,
denoting the state of these faculties
and functions ; nor can any mental
perfection or imperfection be assign-
ed to them.

CHAPTER III.
DISEASES OF THE SOVL.

THE ancients have heretofore
maintained, that the soul is subject
to health or illness in the same man-
ner as the body is. Its healthful
state consists in the constant apt-
ness of all the faculties to do what
is right and perform what is proper.
Sickness, on the contrary, is the
constant aptness of all the faculties
to do what is wrong and perform
what is improper. As in the case of
bodily illness the taste becomes viti-
ated, till what really is sweet ap-
pears bitter, and the reverse ; so
likewise in diseases of the soul, the
mental taste becomes vitiated, till
what is proper appears improper,
and the reverse : And this distem-
per may extend so far that the soul
of either giving them activity or of leaving
them inert, the exercise of this power must
be occasioned by the faculty of desi:
page 112,) which prompts him to prefer the
active play of the imagination to its remain-
ing in a dormant state. What Maimonides
means are those impressions which involun-
tarily and unavoidably result from external
impressions, of which they are the certain
and natural consequences ; and which are
as independent of control and volition, as is
digestion or any other function of the nu-
tritive faculty. — EDITOR.

126

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

eventually indulges in that which in
its healthful state it would loathe
and detest : As it sometimes hap-
pens in bodily ailments that the dis-
tempered palate of the patient de-
lights in loam, coals, or in mouldy,
over-ripe, acid, and putrid meats;'
all of which in a healthful state are
objects of loathing and disgust.
The diseases of the soul have the
effect of perverting good qualities
into bad ones, and the reverse :
They likewise irritate the patient to
extravagant and vitiated desires of
extreme wickedness ; which, never-
theless, whilst under the influence
of the disease; they consider as
good. And as he who knows he is ill
in body, but is ignorant of the reme-
dies of which he stands in need, —
must consult a physician, who pre-
scribes the diet which is proper to
his state, and will prevent him from
indulging in those things to which
his vitiated appetites prompt him, —
whilst medicaments are given to him
which are repugnant to his taste, but
which subdue the disorder, and re-
store his ordinary appetite : So like-
wise, in diseases of the soul ; the
patient must submit to the guidance
of a sage, experienced in the science
of healing, who can prescribe rules
of conduct, by means of which the
soul's distemper may become eradi-
cated. But if the patient neglects
to use this necessary precaution, and
continues his vicious indulgences,
the result — like that of bodily ail-
ments under similar circumstances
— is certain death. Those, who
know that their state is diseased, but
who, nevertheless, yield to their
inordinate passions and appe-
tites, are denounced in Holy Writ,
when it says, " He will exult in his
own mind and say, I shall prosper,
for I walk according to the desires of
my heart : whilst thus, through
drunkenness, the thirst becomes in-
creased." (Deut. xxxi. 19.) By the
expression here used, the sacred
Scripture intends to tell us, that viti-
ated appetites lead man to consider
as a means of quenching the thirst
of raging desire, that very drunken-
ness or indulgence which adds to its
violence. He who, on the contrary,
is ignorant of his own illness, is al-
luded to by Solomon in the words,

"The path of the fool appears the
right one to his own conceit ; but
who listens to counsel is wise." (Prov.
xii. 15.) His meaning is, that he
who consults a sage, and abides by
his directions, acts wisely ; as he will
thus be taught what actually is right,
not what merely appears to be so.
And in another place Solomon says,
"There is a path that appears right
to man, but its termination leads to
death." (Prov. xiv. 12.) He further
alludes to those patients who know
not what is wholesome or pernicious
to their distempered soul, when he
says, " The way of the wicked is in
darkness : they therefore know not
over what they stumble." (Prov. iv.
19.) The art of healing diseases of
the soul will form the subject of our
next chapter.

CHAPTER IV.
THE CURE OF DISEASED SOULS.

MORAL or good deeds are such as
observe the precise medium between
the two equally pernicious extremes,
— the too much, or the too little. Mo-
ral perfections are mental capacities
and aptitudes which likewise observe
the just and equal distance from the
two equally vicious propensities, —
towards the too strong, or the too
weak. From these aptitudes those
deeds or actions necessarily result.
To illustrate what we stated above,
we mention, as an example : Abste-
miousness is alike distant from the
extreme ardour of passion, and from
total apathy or impassibility. The
quality of abstemiousness is in itself
good, or moral ; the aptitude from
which it is derived is a moral perfec-
tion. On the contrary, too great ar-
dour of passion is the one extreme,
total apathy is the other ; both are
alike pernicious ; the aptitudes from
which both result,— as well that
which engenders extreme ardour, as
that which causes total apathy, — are
alike moral imperfections.

To continue our illustration : Gen-
erosity keeps the medium between
avarice and profusion ; valour avoids
temerity, as it also avoids cowardice ;
self-respect is alike distant from am-
bition or meanness ; mildness, from
arrogance or baseness ; meekness,
from pride or cringing ; contented-
ness does not descend into thirst for

MORALITY OF THE RABBIE3.

127

wealth, any more than it degenerates
into slothful indifference ; good-
nature is as unlike to churlishness
as it is to stolid fondness ; forbear-
ance is as far from hasty wrath as
from absolute callousness ; nor is
bashfulness more nearly allied to im-
pudence than it is to sheepishness.

It often happens, however, that
men confound these differing quali-
ties, and even consider a pernicious
extreme as superior to the true moral
quality. Sometimes the too much is
considered as noble and praisewor-
thy : As when temerity is preferred
to true valour, and a reckless Hot-
spur is mistaken for a hero ; so that
he who wantonly exposes his life,
which, apparently by mere chance,
he" escapes losing, is lauded as if
his inconsiderate daring were true
courage. At other times, the oppo-
site extreme is preferred : The too
little is alone held to be worthy of
admiration ; so that cowardice be-
comes dignified with the name of
forbearance ; the slothful idler is
praised for his contented disposition ;
and he whose frigid apathy renders
him callous to every joy. is reverenc-
ed as a saint who eschews sin. In
like manner, p:ofuse liberality and
• stolid fondness are sometimes mis-
taken for virtues. But how perfectly
erroneous and pernicious are all
such deviations from the strict line
of moderation ' which alone is praise-
worthy ; to which every man ought
to adhere, so as always to weigh his
conduct with just discrimination.

Know, that neither moral perfec-
tions nor defects can be acquired or
implanted' in the soul except by
means of frequent repetition and con-
tinued practicj for a length of time,
until they become habitual. When
repetitions and practice are confined
to good or moral actions, the habi-
tude wtfich we acquire is virtuous ;
if the cbntrary, it is vicious. And as
no man comes into the world with
either innate virtue or innate vice,
(as we dfiall fully prove in our eighth
chapter,) every one's conduct does,
doyjbtless, become regulated by the
ex^jnpje of his relatives and the cus-
toms of his countrymen. The con-
duct thus formed may be in strict
accordance with the rules of mode-
ration ; but as it may likewise depart

from these, and diverge into either
extreme, (as we have already demon-
strated,) it results that the soul may
become diseased ; in which case the
same care must be bestowed on its
restoration to health as, in cases of
bodily illness, would be employed
for that purpose. "\Yhen the corpo-
real functions are deranged, and the
necessary equilibrium of the various
parts is disturbed, it is the care of
him who prescribes the medicine to
note which susceptibility preponder-
ates, and to apply such remedies as
will restore a due balance of action.
In diseases of the soul, the same
course must be pursued, till the mo-
ral equilibrium is restored and ad-
justed. Let us, for instance, sup-
pose a man so much under the domi-
nion of avarice as to deny himself
every comfort ; which, as we have
before enumerated, is -a most perni-
cious moral defect, a detestable vice.
If we desire to cure this sick man of
his soul's disease, we must not begin
to accustom him to the practice of
mere generosity ; (as a physician
would not content himself with pre-
scribing to his patient mere cooling
medicines, during the paroxysm of
ardent fever, as sufficient to effect his
cure ;) but we must lead him to be
profuse, and to repeat his acts of
profusion, until the grovelling pro-
pensity for avarice which dwells in
his soul becomes totally dislodged,
and the vacancy is about to be occu-
pied by the opposite extreme, an ap-
titude for profusion. Then we teach
him gradually to moderate his pro-
fusion, until it settles into generosity,
which we direct him to watch with
due care, so that he may not relapse
into either of the extremes from which
we have reclaimed him. If, on the
contrary, profusion is his besetting
evil, we must reclaim him by teach-
ing him the practice of strict econo-
my. But, in that case, we must not
enforce a repetition of this practice,
until it is about to become avarice ;
and this deviation from the rule we
laid down before is founded on the
certainty, that it is more easy for a
man of profuse habits to moderate
them into becoming generosity, than
it is for the miser to elevate himself
above his sordid vice. Thus, like-
wise, the apathetic man is more easi-

128

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

ly excited to moderate enjoyment
or abstemiousness, than the ardently
empassioned is restrained. It is,
therefore needful to let the latter
practise restraint in a stronger de-
gree than the excitement to which
we subject the former. The coward
requires frequent exposure to dan-
ger, in order to get rid of his defect;
whereas the over-bold does not re-
quire to have his daring curbed
equally often in order to temper it
into valour. The churl requires
stimulants frequently repeated to
render him good-natured ; whereas,
a little reflection will teach the man
who is of too easy a disposition to
moderate it. This is the true and
approved method and science of
curing diseased souls, — to teach men
the observance of due moderation.

The pious, however, did not suffer
their inclinations to become restricted
within the bounds of moderation ;
but in their endeavours to attain per-
fection, they leaned (under careful
observance) towards either one ex-
treme or the other. Thus abstemi-
ousness in them became self-denial.
Their valour approached to hardi-
hood ; their good-nature to fond-
ness. Meekness they purified into
humility : And this is the purport of
their advice, when they recommend
us to " do good beyond the strict
letter of our duty."

But when these pious men, and
some of their imitators, at times, re-
gulated their actions entirely by the
one extreme, — (in as far as they
fasted, performed nightly vigils, ab-
stained from eating meat or drinking
wine, renounced all intercourse with
the other sex, clothed themselves in
sackcloth or hairy garments, dwelt
on rocks, or wandered about in de-
serts,)— they did this partly as a
means of restoring the perfect health
of their souls, and partly to avoid
the contagious example of their coun-
trymen, as they justly feared that
their own morals might become in-
fected and corrupted by evil commu-
nications. Therefore they fled to
the desert, far away from the society
of evil men, as the Prophet Jere-
miah said, " O that some one would
grant me in the wilderness the dwell-

ing of a wanderer, and I would quit
my people and abandon them ; for
they are all adulterers, a troop of
faithless evil doers."

When fools observed such actions
performed by pious men, they con-
sidered them virtuous, without pe-
netrating into their motives. They
therefore aped and even surpassed
them in .the voluntary infliction of
all kinds of bodily torment ; thinking
that thereby they would attain to
superior perfection and moral worth,
and enter into nearer community
with the Holy One. (Blessed be
HE ! ) As if the All-merciful hated
the human body and desired its
destruction ! Nor did it ever enter
into their minds to think that such
actions might be impious, result-
ing from moral imperfection, and,
consequently, from a distempered
soul.

Such men can only be compared
to him who is utterly ignorant of the
medical science, and has the oppor-
tunity of observing a skilful physician
administer, to a man at the point
of death, violent drastics, such as
colocynthides, scammonium, and the
like ; by the force of which medi-
cines the sick man eventually reco-
vers, and his life is saved. Should
he that has observed this effect of
the remedies applied, be foolish
enough to conclude, that because
these medicines healed a dangerous
illness they must be far more effica-
cious to preserve the health of him
who is not yet ill, and, on the
strength of the conclusion, com-
mence to take them, and to ape the
diet and prescriptions ordered for
the sick, there can be no doubt that
he would soon become really ill.
Such will likewise be the fate of
those who, whilst the soul is not ill,
have recourse to medicines of which
they do not stand in need, and the
violent effects of which cannot fail to
produce real disorders. Very dif-
ferent are the pure precepts of the
law, which lead to perfection ; and
truly does the sacred Singer teach
us : " The law of the Lord is per-
fect, restoring the soul : the testi-
mony of the Lord is sure, making
wise the simple." (Psalm xix. 7.)

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Squarc.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWENTY-SIXTH DAY OF CHESVAN, 5595.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1834.

No. 9.

I. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. III.

(Continued from page 11QJ

PREFACE TO THE TALMUD 1C TREATISE,
BY MAIMONIDES,

ZERAIM."

PROPHECIES in the name of the
Lord are likewise divided into two
classes. To the first of these ap-
pertains the prophet who, in the
name of the Deity, calls on man-
kind to believe in Him, and exhorts
them to serve God ; but who pre-
tends that the Divine communica-
tion has directed him either to add
to the commands of the law and
traditions, or to diminish them :
As, for instance, that the Deity
has directed him to make known
that the fruit of trees is only prohi-
bited from use during two years,
after the expiration of which it is
lawful to eat the sa-ne, (see Levi-
ticus xix. 23,) or should he on the
contrary say, "The prohibition is
extended to four years : " Further-
more, if he attempts to alter the tra-
dition,although the apparent meaning
of the written law is in his favour ;
as, for instance, "Ye shall cut off
her hands," says Holy Writ, (Deuter-
onomy xxv. 12,) but tradition com-
mutes this puuishment into a fine;
were the prophet to insist on the
literal execution of the law accord-
ing to its apparent meaning and as-
sert that such was the command of
the Deity communicated to him ; — in
this and in all such cases the pro-
phet is obnoxious to be punished
with death as a false prophet who
presumes to assert in the name of
the HOLY ONE (blessed be HE !)
that which is not true And though
he may work wonders and perform
miracles, they afford him no impu-
nity ; because the prophet whose
wonders the whole world beheld,

and of whose veracity and justice
all are convinced, (as it is written,
" They shall believe in thee like-
wise for ever," Exod. xix. 9,) has
told us in the name of the Holy
One, (blessed be HE !) that no other
law will ever be dispensed to us.
This is the meaning of what he has
told us : " For this law which I
command thee this day is not hid-
den from thee, nor far off. It is
not in heaven, neither is it beyond
the sea ; but the word is very nigh
unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy
heart, that thou mayest do it."
(Deut. xxx. 11—14.) It is not vi
heaven, means, "There is no other
liw that will be revealed to you
from heaven." The word is in thy
mouth, means, " The verbal exposi-
tion of the law which has been im-
parted to thee." And in thy htarl,
means, " The conclusions, thou art
to deduce from the thirteen canons
or principles of logic, by which the
law is expounded." We are cau-
tioned alike against addition or di-
minution, as it is written : " Ye
shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall ye di-
minish therefrom." (Deut. iv. 2.)
And therefore our Rabbies of blessed
memory say, in the Talmud, Megi-
lah, (fol. 2,) " Xo prophet has the
right to alter, or innovate on, any
thing in the law." And as we
know that the pretensions of any
proph°t who proclaims himself an
innovator must be false, (inasmuch
as he asserts in the name of God
that which has not been imparted to
him,) he forfeits his life in obedience

130

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF KABB1MCAL WRITERS.

to the law which gives this explicit
direction : " But the prophet who
presumes to say a thing in my name
which I have not commanded him
to say, that prophet shall die."
(Deut. xviii. .) To the second
class belongs the prophet who ex-
horts men and commands them duly
to observe the law, such as it actu-
ally is, without any attempt at inno-
vation; as it is written : " Remem-
ber ye the law of Moses my servant
which I commanded him in Horeb ;
statutes and judgments for all
Israel." (Mai. iii. 4.) The prophet
wfco exhorts mankind, promising re-
•"wards to the righteous, and de-
nouncing sin, as did Isaiah, Jere-
miah, Ezekiel, and others ; who
commands or prohibits a something
which has no relation to the law ;
as, for instance, the command of
Samuel to Saul, that he should war
with Amalek, (1 Sam. xv.,) or the
prohibition to slay the hostile war-
riors of Syria given by Elisha to
Jehoram, (2 Kings vi.,) or that of
Jeremiah to the Israelites, respect-
ing their return to Jerusalem ; and
many more of the like kind. Con-
sequently, when a prophet, without
either himself infringing or direct-
ing others to infringe the commands
of the law, asserts that the Deity
has communicated his will to him ;
it then becomes our duty to investi-
gate his pretensions, in order to as-
certain whether they are well found-
ed, and, if they are so, to pay re-
spect and obedience to all his ad-
monitions and directions ; and who-
soever obeys not his commands, ex-
poses himself to the Divine punish-
ment, as it is said, " Whosoever will
not hearken unto my words, which
he shall speak in my name, I will re-
quire it of him." (Deut. xviii. 19.)
If his prophecy be not approved as
true, he forfeits his life. The test
to which his pretensions must be
brought, is as follows : If a man
assert that the Deity has communi-
cated his will to him, and appears,
from his character, conduct, and
qualifications, worthy of being a
prophet, namely, that he is endowed
with wisdom, faith, piety, penetra-
tion, mildness ; as our Hubbies said,
" The prophetic spirit rests but on
him who is possessed of wisdom,

fortitude, and contentedness." (Tal-
mud, Treatise, Sabbath, 'folio 52.) The
many particulars relating to his qua-
lifications I intend, with the Divine
aid, to make the subject of a separate
treatise. If a man gifted with the
requisite qualifications tells us, that
he is a prophet of the Lord, in
whose name he commands us, we
say unto him, " Verify thy mission
by prediction of some event which
is to happen, and teach us what the
Lord has commanded thee." If he
does predict that which, in every
particular, comes to pass ; in this
case we are certain that his prophetic
mission is really from the Lord;
but if any one of his predictions
remains unfulfilled in the most mi-
nute respect, we may be equally
certain that he is a false prophet.
This test is pointed out to us by the
law: "And if thou say in thy
heart, How shall we know the word
which the Lord hath not spoken ?
When a prophet speaketh in the
name of the Lord, if the thing fol-
low not, nor come to pass, that is
the thing the Lord has not spoken ;
the prophet has spoken it presump-
tuously ; thou shalt not be afraid of
him." (Deut. xviii. 22.) And though
his predictions may a few times be-
come verified, that is not sufficient ;
as it is only by frequent repetition
of his predictions, wonders, and
signs, that his prophetic character
becomes established and approved;
therefore it is said, "All Israel, from
Dan unto Beersheba, knew that
Samuel was accredited to be a pro-
phet unto the Lord." (l Sam. iii.
20.) The frequent repetitions of
his predictions, and their always be-
coming verified in the most minute
particular, proved to all Israel that
Samuel was accredited and estab-
lished as a prophet to the Lord.
On every occurrence he was always
consulted ; and this custom of the
Israelites to resort to their prophets
for advice and direction is proved
by Saul going to consult Samuel.
(1 Sam. ix. 9 ) And, doubtless,
this was needful in order to obviate
the heathen custom of consulting
astrologers and soothsayers: Where-
as the Israelites, on all matters of
general or individual concern, could,
and dif5, apply to the prophet for

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

131

counsel and instruction. As it is
said in Holy Writ : " Thou shalt be
perfect w;th the Lord thy God ; for
these nations which thou shalt pos-
sess hearkened unto the observers
of times and unto diviners ; but as
for thee the Lord thy God has not
so apportioned thee ; a prophet from
among thee, from thy brethren like
unto me will the Lord thy God raise
thee, unto him ye shall hearken."
(Dent, xviii. 13 — 15.) Therefore a
prophet was in those days called a

because he sees into f iturity
as distinctly as we see objects pre-
sent to our eye. (1 Sam. ix. 9.) But
should any one doubt that the veri-
fying of a prediction by the actual
event can be considered as a proof
that the prophet's pretensions are
true; when it is a fact universally
acknowledged that astrologers, di-
viners, soothsayers, and the like,
also do predict events which become
true : How then can his predictions
be distinguished from theirs ? This
is a most important question ; and
it i< our duty to point out the dis-
tinction. Accordingly we say that
such astrologers, diviners, and sooth-
sayers do predict future events, of
which some come to pass and others
do not. This we not only experi-
ence, but these men themselves ad-
mit the fact. The manner in which
they are distinguished from and
amongst each other is, by the one
uttering a greater quantity of false
predictions than the other ; but it is

-sible that any one of them
should predict nothing but the truth,
which, indeed, not one of them pre-
tends to do. Moreover, their pre-
dictions are general, without enter-
ing into particulars ; nor do they
profess to possess the ability of de-
scending into minutiae, with any
thing like certainty. As, for in-
stance, they predict, " The present
year will be one of continued
drought, without any rain at all."
Now, though it remains true that
the year is one of general drought,
still some rain docs fall ; or they
say, "To-morrow will be a rainy
day ;" but it so happens that instead
of the morrow it is the succeeding
day which is rainy : And even this
partial verification is limited to the
most skilful and celebrated among

them ; and it is with respect to these
cunning men that the prophet says,
" Let now arise and aid thee the as-
trologers, the star-gazers, and month-
ly prognosticators of what they (thd
months) produce unto thee." (Isa.
xlvii. 13.) On the latter part of
this verse our Rabbies remarked,
" Of what they produce, not all
that they produce." Such is not
the case with the prophets of the
Lord : As whatever they predict in
his name is sure to be accomplished,
and will come to pass, even to the
most minute and trivial particular.
And thence we know that if
there is any difference whatever be-
tween the prediction and its accom-
plishment, he is not a true pro-
phet. As it is written, "There
shall nothing fall unto the earth of
the word of the Lord." (2 Kings
x. 10.) Some there were who pass-
ed off their dreams as prophecies ;
but they were denounced, as it is
said, "The prophet who harbours
dreams, relates but a dream ; but
he in whom is my word will speak
the words of truth. How cometh
straw among the wheat ? saith the
Lord." (Jeremiah x.viii. 23.) Our
Rabbies expounded this oy saving,
that "real prophecy is as free from
untruth as is pure wheat from straw;
whereas dreams, or the prognostica-
tions of human skill, are mostly
untrue, like the straw that may have
some few grains cf wheat amongst
it." They furthermore say, (Trea-
tise Berackoth, folio 5,) " As it is im-
possible for corn to grow without
straw, so impossible it is for dreams
to be free from every admixture of
incongruity."

Though we have thus established
that whatever the true prophet pre-
dicts is sure to come to pass, there
is nevertheless one exception to the
general rule. If a prophet de-
nounces chastisement, and predicts
evil that is to befall a nation ; and if
subsequently the Divine mercy has
been extended to them, this would
not prove the prophet to be a false
one, and as such liable to be con-
demned to death ; for the Deity is
merciful ; their penitence and ceas-
ing to offend have appeased the Di-
vine wrath ; or the longsuffering of
the Deity has deferred their punish-
2

132

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABRINICAL "WHITEHS.

merit, as was that of Ahab, which
Elijah denounced against him ; and
when Ahab repented, the Lord said to
the prophet, " Seest thou how Ahab
humblelh himself before me ? Be-
cause he humbleth himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his day ; in
his son's days will I bring the evil on
his house." (1 Kings xxi. 29.) Some-
times the Divine mercy is conceded
to the merits and intercession of an-
cestors : To such cases the precau-
tion of Holy Writ, "if the thing
follow not nor come to pass," has
no reference. But whenever the
prophet predicts future good, at a
fixed and certain time, — as when he
f?ays, " This shall be a year of un-
disturbed peace," whereas there ac-
tually is war and disturbance; or
if he says, " This shall be a year of
rain and abundance," and it turns
out to be one of drought and fa-
mine ; — in all such cases we may
rest assured that the prophet is a
false one, of whom Holy Writ says,
" That prophet has spoken it pre-
sumptuously ; thou shalt not be
afraid of him." (Deut. xviii. 22.)
The meaning is, Do not fear that
thou art putting to death an inno-
cent, wise, and holy man ; but be
assured, that he is a false prophet,
and has presumed' to say, in the
name of the Most High, that which
was not commanded unto him ; as
it is impossible, after the Deity has
once promised good through his
prophet, that he shall alter it into
evil, or leave it unaccomplished.
Thence our Rabbies say, in Treatise
BeracJio'-h, (folio 7,) "Whatever good
is pronounced by the Holy One,
(blessed be HE !) even though it be
conditional, it is sure to be fulfilled."
There is, however, one objection that
can be urged against this assertion,
which we are bound to meet. We
find, for example, that even after
Jacob had received the assurance of
Divine favour, and had been told,
" Behold, I am with thee, and will
protect thee wheresoever thou goest,
and will bring thee again into this
land ;'" (Genesis xxviii. 15 ;) he ne-
vertheless was afraid, as it is written :
"Then Jacob was greatly afraid and
distressed." (Genesis xxxii. 7.) On
which our Rabbies remark : " He
was fearful that his sins might

cause him to perish." (Treatise Be-
rachoth, folio 4.) From this it would
appear, that the good promised by
the Deity may, by means of great
sins, be turned into evil. The reply
is : Such may be the case where the
Divine promise is made directly to
the person to whom it is addressed
without the intervention of a mes-
senger,— as it was to Jacob ; and
then the effect of great sins may
impede the good announced. But
when this announcement has been
made by means of a prophet, to a
third person, there is no doubt but
that it will be fulfilled ; as the ac-
complishment of the prophet's pre-
diction is the test appointed by the
Holy One in his law ; and it is not
possible that He should, in any case,
permit this test to lose its authority.
This was the subject of dispute be-
tween Jeremiah and Hananiah the
son of Azur. The former prophe-
sied punishment and destruction,
and assured the nation that Nebu-
chadnezzar would conquer them and
destroy their city and temple. The
latter, on the contrary, predicted
prosperity, and that the consecrated
vessels of which the temple at Jeru-
salem had been despoiled by the
Chaldeans, should return thither
from Babylon. According to the
received rules of prophecy Jeremiah
maintained, that if it becomes true
that Nebuchadnezzar shall be con-
quered, that the house of Judah
shall prosper, and the consecrated
vessels shall return to Jerusalem :
All this would be no proof that his
prophecy of evil is a false one, as the
Divine mercy may alter or suspend
the decree of wrath. But if, on the
contrary, the prophecy of good fails
to be accomplished, it is a certain
proof of its falsity, and can therefore
only be approved by the event ; al-
though that event would not] affect
the truth of the prophecy which de-
nounced punishment : Accordingly
Jeremiah says to Hananiah, " Ne-
vertheless hear thou now this word
that I speak in thine ears, and in the
ears of all the people. • The pro-
phets that have been before me and
before thee, since the beginning of
time, have prophesied against many
countries, and against great king-
doms, of war of evil, and of pesti-

CRITIC* I. EXAMINATION OF RABBIXICAI. WHITEKS.

133

lence. But tbe prophet who prophe-
sieth of peace wh<-n his word comes
to pass, the prophet is acknowledged,
that the Lord has truly sent him."
(Jeremiah xx%-hi. 7 — 9). The mean-
ing is, that in the various prophe-
cies of good or of evil, the nonfulfil-
ment of the latter does not impeach
their veracity ; whereas the truth of
the former is altogether dependent
on their accomplishment.

When the predictions of any one
prophet become constantly verified,
and he is approved and celebrated
as a prophet of the Lord, such as
were Samuel, Elijah, and others ;
then his authority is established in a
degree which no other mortal can
possibly attain, inasmuch as we are
bound to obey him, although he
should command a temporary in-
fringement of the law, either to omit
an observance, or to break a prohi-
bition, except indeed he ordain the
worship of strange gods. Such is the
expressed decision of our Rabbies,
when they maintain, in the Trea-
tise Sanhedrin, (folio 90,) " What-
ever transgression of the law the
prophet directs thee to commit, thou
art bound to obey, excepting only
the worship of strange gods ; and
provided also that the transgression
which he cot)mands is not to be con-
stant or perpetual, but only caused
by the pressing occasions of the mo-
ment." The prophet himself is in

ch cases bound to declare, that
the transgression of the law of
Moses which he commands, is not
to be considered as constant, but is
committed solely to meet the emer-
gencies of the moment, beyond which
the repetition continues unlawful.
An instance of this we find in Elijah
on Mount Carmel. (1 Kings xviii.)
He sacrificed out of Jerusalem,
whilst the temple still existed. This
is prohibited, and the transgressor
is threatened with nT " to be cut
off from his people." (See Levit.
xvii. 8, 9.) But when the exigencies
of the moment required it, the pro-
phet, instructed by God, had the
authority to depart from this precept.
Had the Israelites inquired of him,
whether they were justified to conti-
nue the practice of which he had
set them the example, and to offer
their sacrifices out of Jerusalem ?

his answer would have been : '•' No.
if you do so, you will commit an of-
fence which will be visited with se-
vere punishment. Nor would I have
dared to depart from the precept of
the law, were it not requisite that I
should do so, in order to convict the
priests and prophets of Baal in the
presence of all Israel, and to wring
from the assembled nation the una-
nimous confession that " the Lord
alone is God." Elisha likewise, dur-
ing the rebellion of Mesha king of
Moab, and the consequent war, com-
manded the Israelites, " Ye shall fell
every good tree ; " (2 Kings iii. 19;)
which was a departure from the law,
as there it is written : " Thou shalt
not destroy the trees thereof by
forcing an axe against them." (Deut.
xx. 19 ) But had the Israelites asked
of Elisha, whether, in their future
wars and sieges, they.might dispense
with the observance of the Divine
precept of the law, and be permitted
to fell the fruit-trees : his answer
wouW have been : " No, assuredly
not. My directions, that youareto de-
part from the law, in this particular
instance is caused by peculiar circum-
stances which require and authorize
me to issue a command limited to the
present occasion ; but which it is sin-
ful to consider as a precedent for the
future." In order fully to illustrate
this, we say, that were a prophet,
whose character and mission are
fully approved and established, (as
we stated before,) to command us,
that on the Sabbath-day we are to
arm for battle ; that men and women
are to light fires, in order to pre-
pare weapons and ammunition ; that,
when fully accoutred, we are to
march to a certain place, and there
either to lie in ambush for, or openly
attack, the enemy; that we are to
assail, hew down, and burst open
the gates and draw-bridges of his
camp or fortress, slay, make pri-
soners, obtain booty, burn and
destroy ; and all this on the Sab-
bath, — we who are strict ad-
herents and observers of the Mosaic
law are in diity bound to obey his
behest, and to do as he has com-
manded, with zeal and ardour, how-
ever greatly the Sabbath thereby
may be violated ; and we may justly
expect the Divine recompense for

J34

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

our obedience, since what we do is
conformably to the commands of the
law : "A prophet from amongst
thee, from thy brethren like unto
me, will the Lord thy God raise up
unto thee : to him ye shall hearken."
(Deut. xviii. 15.) These last words
are thus expounded in the Talmud :
(Treatise Sanhedrin, folio 90 :) " Ye
shall hearken to and obey him in all
things, (even if he commands a
transgression of the law,) excepting
only the worshipping of strange
gods." But this exception is so
forcible, that, were he to say, " Wor-
ship this idol, or offer incense to yon
constellation to-day, or for the space
of one hour, or only this once ; " he
must be put to death without hesita-
tion. But should any man think
within himself, " I am grown old in
the constant and scrupulous observ-
ance of the law. I have never trans-
gressed against its commandments ;
and now I am ordered to violate the
Sabbath by preparing for and going
into battle ; and in so doing 4 am
guilty of a crime, the punishment for
which is stoning to death ! It is
better for me not to obey, but to do
as the law bids, and observe the
Sabbath. Let others rush into bat-
tle ; my weak aid will not be need-
ed."— The man who reasons in this
manner, and acts accordingly, is a
rebel, who presumes to gainsay the
Divine command, and will, as such,
be visited with punishment from
above ; as he who instituted the
Sabbath, and ordained its observ-
ance, does now by the mouth of his
prophet command that such observ-
ance shall, for once, be violated :
" And the man who will not hearken
unto the words which the prophet
shall speak in my name, I will re-
quire it of him." (Deut. xviii. 19.)
But although the sanctity of the
Sabbath may — on a particular occa-
sion in obedience to the Divine com-
mand, as delivered by the prophet
of the Lord — be violated, that Divine
institution does not therefore lose
its power even on the very day and
at the very time it is thus trans-
gressed ; as he who goes beyond the
command of the prophet,in doing what
the occasion doesnot require, is guilty
of death for breaking the Sabbath.
But should the prophet, thus ap-

proved and believed in as the mes-
senger of God — whose command we
are bound to obey, even though it
compels us to violate the Sabbath or
transgress any other command on
any particular occasion — should the
prophet take upon himself to say,
that any one of the commandments
of the written or verbal law is gener-
ally done away with or altered, (as,
for instance, were he to assert that
the nnu> tznhn "the distance be-
yond the boundaries of town or vil-
lage," which it is not permitted to
exceed on the Sabbath, and which
according to tradition is two thou-
sand yards,) he were to assert that it
was two thousand yards minus or plus
one,and founds such assertion, not on
his own opinion, but on a pretended
revelation from the Deity, we are at
once convinced that he is become a
false prophet, and must be put to
death by strangulation. This is the
standard and key to the true know-
ledge of all that concerns prophets
and prophecy ; and in what their
authority is distinguished from that
of any other mortal, with respect to
the Divine commands and their
transgression.

But with respect to logical conclu-
sions, the prophet haeno authority be-
fore others ; so that whenever his opi-
nion, deduced from reasoning, differs
from that of any other individual
drawn from the same premises, his
prophetical character does not add any
weight to the force of his reasoning ;
and if he asserts that Divine revela-
tion has told him that the opinion
he has formed is correct, do not
obey him. And were one thousand
prophets to arise, every one as emin-
ent as Elijah or Elisha, and should
all of them express the same opinion
founded on logical deduction, re-
specting any particular subject, —
and were one thousand and one
other sages (who have not the gift
of prophecy) to maintain a different
opinion, — the majority decides; nor
does their prophetic character avail
the minority ; for the law is not
variously revealed. The first must
not be enlarged or diminish-
ed ; and the interpretation of that
law was not confided to the pro-
phets as such, but to snges who are
guided by the logical canon, as it is

DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABB1ES 135

written : "If there arise a matter thou shalt come unto the priests the

too hard for thee in judgment, be- Letites, and unto the Judge who shall

tween blu--d and blood, between plea be in those days, and they shall shew

and plea, between stroke and stroke, thee the sentence of judgment."

matters of controversy within thy (Deut. xvii. 8-9.) Here, then, Holy

gates ; then shalt thou arise and Writ directs us to the priest and the

get thee up into the place which judge as the proper teachers of the

the Lord thy God shall choose ; and law, but not to the prophet.

(To be continued.)

II. DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIE3.*
For the Hebrew Rerietr.

PERCEIVING the object of the Hebrew Review to hs the diffusion of
early-promulgated doctrines in religion and morality, as well as bring-
ing to light the divine treasures, moral sentiments, and elegant expres-
sions so long hidden in Hebrew works, 1 presume to send for insertion
a specimen of peculiar elegance in composition, and of deep philosophy
in subject, which mav at least serve as a variety, amidst the more serious
and elaborate papers that adorn the Review.

Bechinath Olam, or, "an Investigation into the moral world," was
composed in the thirteenth century, by Rabbi Jedaiah Hap'nini, likewise
called Badrashi. Its subject is man and his constitution, and the world
and its moral government: The subject is deeply investigated and meta-
physically considered ; but the language in which it is clothed is the most
admirable. It consists, as was the style in that age, of a congeries of
scriptural verses, happily conjoined and powerfully expressive ; at the
same time shining with highly brilliant eloquence, and may well be
likened to a beautiful and rich Mosaic, finished and adorned with the
utmost elegance.

The translation aims at giving a faint idea of this particular s'.yle by a
close and literal version ; and only in very few places, for the sake of
euphony, does it venture to depart from the rhapsodical saltation of the
original.

Liverpool, J. V. O.

.Yor. 17f/i. 1834.

BECHINATH OLAM,

OR,
" AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MORAL WORLD."

ture, the enquiries of the understand-
ing know no bounds. Manifold are

THE Heavens for height, the Earth the subjects it would explore. Xu-
for depth, but the extent of a com- merous are the cogitations in the
prehensive heart is unfathomable, heart of the upright man, who loveth
Anxious to establish a knowledge of righteousness; inwardly doth he
the radical principles of human na- sanctify the Holy One of Israel, and

• We have been favoured with this article by a gentleman whose high literary
attainments, and active zeal in the cause of his brethren, secure to him the admiration
and gratitude of every Israelite, and the respect of true philanthropists of every sect
and creed THE EDITOR.

136

TAI.MUDIC NARRATIVES.

with his lips doth he honour the God
of glory. There exists no wisdom,
no science, no counsel, which he
doth not attempt to master ; and
which of all the nether creation, ex-
cept the most perfect, can be with-
held from him ?

. Can the heavens contain, or the
seas comprise, the researches collect-
ing within the sphere of his heart ?
Can the wings of the wind overtop
the rising spirit of wisdom hovering
delightfully over serene waters and
Eden's lakes ? Can earth's utter-
most bounds circumscribe that fa-
culty whose seat is a chamber small
as the palm of a man's hand ? Such
is man's portion from God, the di-
vine portion from the spiritual world.
God is in heaven, and this the only
being on earth that goeth to approach
him. He explores the registers in
the Scriptures of truth, and great
are his acts in law and jmtice. Were
it not that the accidents of life con-
fuse him, and the spirit of his times
confound him, nothing would with-
hold man from soaring to the skies
to embrace the universe, until he re-
sembled the angels in the true know-
ledge of excellence.

CHAPTER II.

BUT the virtuous man becomes
astonished, he stands aghast, at the
failure of his power. On perceiving
dissension and rapine in a city, I

despise my very image ; when con-
templating the vicissitudes of a State,
I sicken at life. " Behold ! " I ex-
claim, "man placed on earth, like
unto one of the heavenly host on
high ! his heart, like a sea extending
its bound, stretching his wings to
the south, discovers the secrets of
its hidden chambers ; proceeds to
the east, and studies sublime know-
ledge ; soars to the skies, and be-
comes sapient of exalted systems ;
descends to the depths, and meets
with scientific arrangements in their
inmost recesses. Thus, from his
lowly station mounting on high, and
from the heights of heaven descend-
ing to his earth, until the paths of
nature become smooth before him !
Thus, wandering at large until his
reason acquires a facility in deep re-
search, and the spirit of his under-
standing penetrates the uttermost
bounds of creation ; until, by discus-
sion, reason, and deduction, he con-
centrates within his grasp the con-
fines of the earth with all their power
and extent ; nay, even proudly spans
the heavens ! Thus does his know-
ledge generalize the nature and pur-
pose of all creatures, and by his in-
vestigation adjusts the proper classi-
fication of their species ; and whilst
expatiating on the wonders of the
great God, he is led to consider and
discourse of the Divine Essence it-
self.

III. TALMUDIC NARRATIVES.

TREATISE, Sabbath, Folio 30.

EVERY man should strive to be-
come as patient and forbearing as
Hillel, to whom the following fact
occurred : — Two men, discoursing
on the variety of human dispositions
and the probable extent of forbear-
ance, had a dispute respecting Hillel.
The one maintained that it was im-
possible to irritate or provoke him
sufficiently to make him lose his
temper ; the other, on the contrary,
asserted, that not only was it possi-
ble, but that he himself would un-
dertake so to work upon HillePs
patience as to force him into ill tem-
per. The result of their dispute
was a wager of four hundred gold
pieces, which each of them slaked ;
and the challenger prepared himself

to obtain an immediate decision.
It was the eve of the Sabbath ;
Hillel was in the act of performing
his ablutions, when a man knocked
at his gate, and in breathless haste
inquired, " Is Hillel within ? I
must see him immediately." Hillel
arose, prepared to receive his visiter,
wrapped himself in his mantle, and
went forth to meet him. " What is
thy wish, my son ? " was his greet-
ing. The other replied, " I have a
question to put to thee." " Do so,
my son," said Hillel. " Why have
the Babylonians round heads ? "
said the inquirer. " Indeed, my
son," replied Hillel, " thy question
is one of great importance : The
reply thereto is, Because their mid-

TiLML'DIC NARRATIVES.

137

\vives are not skilful." The man
expressed thankfulness, and de-
parted, and Hillel returned to his
former task : But scarcely had he
commenced his immersions ere ano-
ther knock was heard at his gate, fol-
lowed by the exclamation, " Is Hillel
within? Is Hillel within?" again Hillel
hastened to prepare himself, wrapped
his mantle around him, and came
forth. "What is thy wish, my
son?" inquired he. "I fain would
ask thee a question," replied the
other. " Do so, and I will answer
thee," said Hillel. " Then tell me,
pray, why have the Thermudians
round eyes ? " " Really, my son,"
replied Hillel, " this question is
most important : The answer is, Be-
cause they live among the sands,
and would be more exposed to pain
and suffering from grains of sand
blown into their eyes if the shape
were oval, than they are at present
as the shape is round." Again
the man thanked him, and with-
drew, and Hillel returned to his
chamber, to resume the occupation
in which he had been twice inter-
rupted. Some little time elapsed,
and Hillel had just become settled
in his bath, when once more a knock
resounded at his gate, and " Is
Hillel within ? " was demanded with
greater urgency than before. Once
more Hillel, enveloped in his mantle,
•went forth to meet the clamorous

intruder. " What is thy wish, my
son : " he again inquired with
friendly voice. " If thou wilt per-
mit me, I would request thy answer
to a question," said the stranger.
" Thou shall have it, my son," re-
plied Hillel. " Why then, tell me,
I pray thee, have the Africans broad
feet ? " " This is an important
question, my son," said Hillel ; " the
answer is, Because they live amongst
bogs and quagmires ; and the broader
their feet are, the less risk they run
of sinking in those bogs." " I have,
several other questions to which I
would solicit thy replies," said the
man, " but I fear thou wilt be an-
gry at my intruding on thy time."
" Not in the least," replied Hillel,
adjusting his mantle, and seating
himself, " whatsoever thou hast to
ask I will hear and endeavour to an-
swer." The stranger began : " Art
thou Hillel. that is styled the prince
of Israel ? " " Yes," was the reply.
" If thou art he," continued the
man, " then I wish the like of
thee may never again be found in
Israel!" "Why so, my son?"
said Hillel, " Because through thee
I lose four hundred gold pieces,"
replied the man. " Thou must in
future be more prudent," answered
the sage. " Hillel is well worthy
that such a sum should be lost on
him, but not for twice as much
would he lose his temper."

WE cannot forbear noticing-, not only the model of uneqaallecl
patience with which this anecdote makes us acquainted, but likewise the
wisdom of holding- it up to us as a perfect lesson of that useful virtue.
Had the man accosted Hillel rudely, or even struck him a blow, his for-
bearance would not have been extraordinary ; as he who has taken upon
himself to practise patience, would in that case, by the very singularity
of the trial to which his temper was subjected, become reminded of the
rules of conduct he had laid down to himself; and his 'patience would
lose its merit, as it was summoned to meet the occasion. But he who
undertook to provoke Hillel was a better judge of human nature, and
calculated his chances of success with greater accuracy than to leave
room for the laboured efforts of artificial forbearance : And we doubt not
but our readers will acknowledge, that, with any other man than Hillel, the
scheme must have succeeded. Let us consider the circumstances :
Hillel, venerated by the Jews as their ruler, on account of his moral worth
and great learning, — accustomed to have questions of the greatest possi-
ble importance submitted to his opinion, and to see his decisions carried

138 METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

into effect with all the solemnity due to his acknowledged authority, —
the venerable Hillel is withdrawn to his chamber in order to prepare for
the Sabbath. Being- disturbed, he is forced to dress himself, and to give
audience to a visiter, the importance of whose communication can alone
apologize for the unseasonable intrusion, and whose urgent haste must
be considered as the excuse for the impertinent omission of Hillel's
customary title. His expectation is raised ; the mighty question is pro-
pounded ; and proves to be most frivolous. Disappointed expectation,
time wasted, and the impatience natural to man on seeing a silly trifle
treated as a matter of importance, combined to produce their general
effect, — but in vain ; and though the experiment was thrice repeated, the
good temper of Hillel withstood the temptation. One more effort the
incipient loser tries : " I have several other questions, to which I would
solicit thy replies ; but I fear lest thou mayest consider them as a waste
of thy time and be offended." The forbearance of an angel could scarce
withstand such cool effrontery. When this, too, fails, the question is
put, " Art thou Hillel, who is styled the prince of Israel ? " and the re-
ply, " Yes," is followed by the direct insult, which forms the climax of
the gradual, but vain, provocation, and wrings from this baffled judge of
human nature, the confession that his wager is lost. We agree with
Hillel, and exclaim, " Such matchless patience is well worthy that he
who speculates on its frailty should pay the forfeit of his presumption."

IV. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY n. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 124.)

CHAPTER xiv. of human perfection ; and must

WE have already demonstrated, therefore be utterly inapplicable to

that the Holy One (blessed be He !) *he Supreme and All-perfect Being.

is immaterial, and that he does not In ll£e manner the Sacred Scriptures

possess material faculties; conse- ascribe to him loftiness ; as ' The

quently he is necessarily independent Lord reigneth clothed in high-mmd-

of the accidents and effects of matter. ednes? : * Cftalm xcm 1 :)— grief,

Such being the fact, it becomes our a*> " !t Sieved Ahltn in ;hls, h£art ; "

duty to state the cause, why in Holy (^enesis vi. 6 ;) And again " He was

Writ we find so many expressions overcome at the misery of Israel.

that seem to ascribe to the Deity (Judges jr. 16.) 1 o all these quota-

corporeal faculties and affections, tl°ns and th(f corporeal passions and

such as jealousy, wrath, revenge, affections which they indicate, we

and resentment. We find, for inl Slve one general ^ply : All that pro-

stance, "God is jeaknis; and phets declare have but one aim and

revengeful is the Lord ; revenge- purpose,— to ^render men righteous

ful is the Lord, and wroth ; the and to convert them to the love and

Lord is revengeful to his adver- adoration of the Deity; and as the

saries, and full of resentment is he "?ass °/ mankind are influenced by

to his enemies;" (Nahum i. 2;) their fea,r8 only, and arrive at that

all passions of this description are state of hunQi"ty and prostration of

corporeal ; moreover, they are not . The word ni>w, which the English ver-

praiseworthy, and cannot with pro- sion poetically renders "majesty," literally

priety be assigned to man possessed means " highmindednera."

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

139

the soul which Divine worship re-
quires, solely, through the dread of
punishment ; the prophets, in ex-
horting them, accommodate their
language to the general perceptions
and impressions of the untutored.
And as, in common parlance, it is
said, "The king intlicts punishment
on those rehels who have transferred
their allegiance to another ; " the
prophets in like manner say, " God
is jealous and revengeful," &c., as
the consequence to those who trans-
gress against the Divine commands
is like unto the effects produced by
him who, possessed of the power,
indulges his vengeance. And as
man regrets, and feels grieved, when
he is reduced to destroy the work of
his hands ; the Sacred Writers em-
ploy expressions akin to the feelings
entertained by man, when they relate
that the Deify caused his own crea-
tion to perish by the waters of the
flood, and accordingly Holy Writ
tells us : " The Lord said, I will
destroy man whom I have created ;
for it repenteth me that I have
made them." (Gen. vi. 1.) And
as man, when reduced to destroy
the work of his own hands, is in-
tent to preserve entire as much
of it as " possibly he can, Holy
Writ, in like manner tells us, " And
Noah found grace in the eyes of the
Lord ;" (Genesis vi. 8 ;) which grace
was, that he and his were saved
amidst the general destruction. This,
too, will explain the expression,
" He was overcome at the misery of
Israel ;" he terminated their suffer-
ings by direct assistance unmerited
by them ; as does a man who is
overcome by the extreme misery and
lamentations of another, and who ex-
tends that aid which, in reality, the
object of his commiseration does
not deserve. In the same sense we
find, " I have surely seen the afflic-
tion of my people who are in Miz-
raim ; and I descend to deliver
them." (Exod. iii. 7, 8.) Such, like-
wise, are the " yearnings of pity,"
and other corporeal affections, as-
signed to the Deity ; which are used
in order to elucidate to the human
understanding that which it can only
comprehend by means of the analo-
gy existing between its operations
and the effects of human passions

or affections. And though Holy
Writ expressly tells us, " For ye saw
no manner of similitude, on the day
the Lord spoke to you at Horeb o';t
of the midst of the fire;" (Deut. iv.
15 ;) nevertheless, corporeal parts
are ascribed to the Deity ; as, when
we are told, " And he gave him two
tables of testimony, tables of stone,
written with the finger of God."
(Exodus xxxi. 18.) " \Vhen I consider
thy heavens, the work of thy fin-
gers." (Psalm viii. 3.) " Thy right
hand, O Lord, is glorious in power."
(Exodus xv. 6.) " Thy hands have
made me and fashioned me." (Psalm
cxix. 73.) But all these expressions
are, as we said before, used to ena-
ble the human mind to under-
stand by analogy what otherwise
would be incomprehensible : Thus,
as man writes with his fingers the
Divine writing is said to be the
work of " the fingers of God ; " — as
the right hand of man performs the
acts of his power, the same attribute
is assigned to " the right hand of
God ; " as whatever is fashioned by
man is done by means of his hands,
the hands of God are said to have
fashioned man. As the ears of man
are the organs of hearing, the Deity
is solicited to be propitious to the
prayers of man in the words, " Lord,
incline thine ear and hear." (2 Kings
xix. 16.) Thus, in order to express
effects produced by the Divine in-
tervention, although we know and
Holy Writ teaches us that the Deity
has no corporeal parts any more than
he is influenced by corporeal pas-
sions,— yet the language of the Sa-
cred Scriptures employs terms ana-
logous to what is human, and which
humanity may comprehend. To
denote his supremacy, they depict
him as King: "I saw the Lord sit-
ting on a high and exalted throne."
(Isaiah vi. 1.) " For my eyes have
beheld the King, the Lord of hosts."
(Isaiah v. 5.) To describe his irre-
sistible might, they represent him as
a hero : " The Lord goeth forth like
a hero, he arouseth his zeal like a
valorous warrior : he will shout, and
he will roar, and will prevail against
his enemies." (Isaiah xlii. 13.) This
manner of investing the Divine per-
fections with qualities purely human
is alluded to by David, when he
2

140

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OK THE KABBIES'.

says, " They speak of the glories of
thy kingdom, and talk of thy power :
To make known to the sons of man
his mighty works, and the glorious
majesty of his kingdom. Thy king-
dom is universal and everlasting ;
thy dominion over every succeed-
ing generation." (Psalm cxlv.
11 — 13.) His meaning is, that to
speak of the Divine kingdom, and
of its glories, and its powers, must
be done in such language as will
convey to the sons of men some
idea of its splendour and majesty,
which may thus be made known to
them, although in reality the Divine
power is infinite, and can, as such,
not at all be understood or conceived
by man. When the Sacred Scrip-
tures assign to the Deity a loftiness,
although this is a reprehensible qua-
lity,, as we are told, "All pride of
heart is an abomination to the Lord,"
(Proverbs xvi. 5,) — the difference is,
that pride in mortal man is most un-
becoming : For, whatever he has, or
boasts of, is not his, but is only be-
stowed on him for a time ; nor are
his perfections his own, but they
come from God. If man is proud
of his wisdom, the Sacred Scrip-
tures correct him : " For the Lord
giveth wisdom." (Proverbs ii. 6.)
If either riches, or power, or domi-
nion, or even kingly rule, is the
source of his pride, all these are from
God : " Thine, O Lord, is the great-
ness, and the power, and the suprem-
acy, and the majesty ; for all that is
in the heavens or on earth is thine,
O Lord, as is the kingdom and the
exaltation above all chiefs. Riches
and honour come from thee, Thou
rulest over all : In thy hand is power
and might, and in thy hand it like-
wise is to make great, and to give
strength to all." (1 Chronicles xxix.
11, 12.), Consequently, as man is
altogether dependent on the Divine
will, and every thing of which he is
possessed comes from God, human
pride is unfounded, improper, and re-
prehensible, and highness properly
belongs but to Him who is clothed in
loftiness, who is lofty above all pride ;
(Exodus xv. 1 ; ) which the Chaldee
paraphrase of Jonathan the son of
Uzziel renders, " He is high above
the proud; for all pride belongeth
to him alone." And, to convince

us that highness appertains to the
Deity alone, we have a striking proof
in Nebuchadnezzar, who, proud of
his grandeur and power, is humbled
before the highness of the Deity,
and taught that lesson which made
him confess it to be his duty to
" praise, and extol, and honour the
King of Heaven, all whose works
are truth, and his ways judgment :
And those that walk in pride he is-
able to abase." (Daniel iv. 37.)
Another striking instance of hum-
bled pride we find in the Ruler of
Tyrus : " Because thy heart is lifted
up and thou hast said, I am a god,
but thou art a man, and no god, in
the hand of him that, slayeth thee; '
therefore will I bring forth a fire
from the mid&t of thee, it shall de-
vour thee, and I will bring thee to
ashes upon the earth in the sight of
all them that behold thee." (Ezekiel
xxviii. 2, 9, 18.) Thus human pride
is humbled to the dust, and the
highminded is brought low; for
all * highness or exaltation belong-
eth to the Lord ; so that he who in
the folly of his arrogance boasted,
" I am a god," is put in the hands
of those who seek his life, and who
execute their will upon him ; and he
cannot save himself out of their
power : " For wilt thou say before
him that slayeth thee, I am God ? "
(Ezekiel xxviii Q.) All that we
have here stated goes to prove the
correctness of the general rule laid
down by our Rabbies of blessed
memory, that " the language of
Holy Writ assimilates itself to the
terms of parlance usual among men,
and that, consequently, nothing ma-
terial or corporeal can be attributed
to the Deity as a consequence of any
expressions used by the Sacred
Scriptures.

CHAPTER XV.

Joy is the result of pleasurable
sensations which any occurrence
causes within ; and pre-supposes a
new condition, or rather a change
from that which preceded it. Never-
theless, we find this expression, JOY,
applied to the Deity : " The Lord
rejoiceth in his works. (Psalm civ.
31.) The men of the great assem-
bly (Sanhedrim) likewise use similar
language in the matrimonial service:

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BABBIES.

141

"Joy is in His dwelling." But joy
is applied to Him in the same sense
in which, as we demonstrated in the
foregoing chapter, grief can be ap-
plied to him ; namely, to illustrate
to the human mind, by means of
analogy, that which otherwise would
be utterly incomprehensible. And,
as we said that the destruction of
the work of his hands was, in man,
accompanied by grief, and that there-
fore the same word was, under simi-
lar circumstances, applied to the
Deity ; so we go on to say, that, as
the thriving and prosperity of the
work of his hands causes joy to man,
the same word is, under similar cir-
cumstances, applied to the Deity,
when it is said, " The Lord rejoiceth
in his works." And as real thriving
and prosperity are more properly at-
tributed to those superior intelli-
gences who have an individual exist-
ence and purpose, the expression,
",Joy is m his dwelling," is the^e-
fore only used in the nuptial bene-
diction, as that consecrates the
union by means of which the human
species is to be preserved, to thrive,
and to prosper. And, in the same
sense, we likewise find the expres-
sion, " Might and gladness are in
his place;" (1 Chron. xvi. 27;) and
the last words denote, that the ful-
ness of every joy dwells within His
essence. Thus, likewise, that other
expression, " Blessed be the glory
of God from his place," (Ezek. iii.
12,) denotes, that the fulness of
glory dwells within his essence.
There can, however, be no relation
whatsoever between the joys of the
Creator and those of his creatures,
as theirs are derived from what he
bestows on them. Their greatest
joy and beatitude is commensurate
•with the degree of knowledge which
they have attained of his being and
perfections ; His joy is the perfect
knowledge he has of himself. Their
joy is limited according to the extent
of their knowledge : (And although
the increase of their joy keeps pace
with that of their knowledge, as they
always have a something additional
to desire and to attain, as the Sacred
Singer saith in the Psalms, "Let
those that seek the Lord rejoice in
their hearts ;" " Seek ye the Lord
a nd his power, and search his pre-

sence evermore j" (Psalm cv. 4 ;)
" Let all those that seek thee be
glad, and rejoice in thee, and con-
stantly exclaim, O great is the Lord ;"
(.Psalm Ixx. 4 ;) thus the contem-
plation of the Deity affords the con-
stantly-renewed desire and attain-
ment of knowledge, which brings
its own joy along with it : And
though this joy is, as we said be-
fore, limited according to the extent
of knowledge, yet it is unceasing
and progressive :) But his joys
are infinite as is the everlasting
and boundless knowledge which
he harbours of himself, and which
is constant and immutable. The
grace of God permits man in
some small degree to attain to this
true joy, as the Sacred Singer saith,
" How precious is thy grace, O God,
and the sons of man shelter beneath
the shadow of thy wings." (Psalm
xxxvi. ~ .) Although thy grace is
boundless, yet it is imparted to the
finite sons of men. The word ~:~,
" wing," is used here for " secrecy,"
asVe find 7" ~ TQ) -:r s?, " Thy
teachers shall no longer be corered
with wings, or concealed." (Isaiah
xxx. 20.) And from this concealed
knowlejge which the Divine grace
permits the contemplations of men
to attain, they derive the true joy
and beatitude which gladdens the
world of souls. Therefore David
continues: "They shall be richly sa-
tisfied with the abundance of' thy
house; and thou shalt make them
drink from the stream of thy bliss.
For with thee is the fountain of
life ; in thy light we shall see light.
O continue thy grace unto them that
know thee ; and thy righteousness to
the upright in heart ! " (Psalm xxxvi.
8 — 10 ) The Poet-King here ex-
presses, that the beatitude which the
souls enjoy is in consequence of
contemplating, and becoming ac-
quainted with, some of those perfec-
tions which form the Divine joy;
that the " being richly satisfied with
the abundance of thy house," are
the joys derived from contemplation
of the %vorks of creation : As it was
said to Moses, "Thou shalt see^myback
parts ; " (Exodus xxxiii. 23 ;) namely,
that which emanates from the Deity,
or the works of creation ; but that
the further expression, " Thou shalt

MORALITY OF THE BABBIES.

make them drink from the streams
of thy bliss," means the contempla-
tion of those Divine perfections which
are his own essence and delight, and
which, unless made " to drink " or
attain by the Divine grace, man could
never reach. And although these
joys are infinite, (whereas man and
his comprehension are finite,) never-
theless as " with thee is the fountain
of life," the Divine grace can so
temper the human mind that " in
thy light we shall see light : " As
the human eye can encompass but a
part of light, and not the whole ;
nevertheless man rejoices in what he
can attain ; therefore the Sacred
Singer compares the attainment
of Divine knowledge to the light.
And he further says,"" Continue thy
grace to them that know thee ; " to
those who in their present state
strive to attain the knowledge of
thee ; that thus they may acquire
that reward in a future state which
is granted by " thy righteousness to
the upright in heart ;" as it is the
decree of the Divine righteousness,
(as set forth in the law,) that, on
account of their faithfulness to God
and adherence to his laws, the up-
right in heart should be rewarded
with eternal life, as the prophet says,
"The righteous shall live .through
his] faith ; " (Habak. ii. 4 ;) which
unquestionably denotes the life to
come ; as, during their terrestrial
sojourn, the righteous have no pre-
ference in length of days before the
wicked.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE word MIRTH has a twofold

meaning ; it expresses joy, as (in
Genesis xvii. 17,) " Abraham fell
on his face prwi, which the Chal-
dee paraphrase of^Onkelos renders
"•"irp, "and was merry," It like-
wise is used to express derision, as
in Job xii. 4, " I am become a de-
rision to his neighbours." Some-
times the words, pi nw, scornful
laughter, is followed by 3$\ derision.
" He that sitteth in the heavens
pnti» will laugh, and the Lord
1D^> Z$?i will hold them in derision."
(Psalm ii. 4.) These two words are
synonymous, because they imply the
satisfaction felt at seeing in another
imperfections, imprudence in word
or deed, folly, or ignorance, of which
we feel ourselves to be free ; and are
thus composed of the sensations, —
contempt for another, and self-satis-
faction. Holy Writ, however, uses
this expression as it does others of
purely human , parlance ; and thus
the sacred Psalmist, — after having
said that " the kings of the earth
and its rulers take counsel against
the Lord, and say, Let us do away
with the supremacy of his power " —
cannot find words to express the
utter folly of such attempts, and is
therefore induced to say, " The Lord
holds them in derision," — as a
strong man derides the hostile efforts
of an infant. But his intention is
not, and cannot be, to ascribe to the
Deity any admixture of self-satisfac-
tion at the weakness or impotence
of his creatures, such as we defined
to be invariably a component part of
the feelings which cause human de-
rision

(To be continued.)

V. MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

nJDty Schmonah Perakim Lerambam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAIMONIDES.
(Continued from pay e 112.)

CHAPTER IV.

THIS perfect law does not teach us to
subject the body to useless and un-
called-for tortures. On the contrary,
its aim and intention is, that man,
according to the dictates of nature,
should pursue the path of modera-

tion, eat and drink moderately, and
according to his means ; should en-
joy the bliss of love in moderation,
and live honestly and uprightly
amongst his fellow-men in a civil-
ized land. But it never was the
purpose of this perfect law that man

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

143

was to inl.:J)it the lonely wilderness,
or to dwt'.i on the sterile rock, or
clothe himself in sack and haircloth,
or inflict r.r.y tortures on his body.
For he thus deprives himself of
every lawful enjoyment, and torments
himself, — acts in opposition .to the
bountiful intentions of Providence,
and is, therefore, guilty of actual sin.
When we examine the words of our
prophets and of the sages of the law,
we see that their intention is to re-
commend moderation, and the due
care of soul and body, in accordance
with the commands of the law. Such
is the Divine instruction by the
mouth of the prophet, when the de-
sire was evinced to continue the
annual observance of one day of fast-
ing, which, under particular circum-
stances, had been enacted. The ques-
tion was, " Shall I weep in the fifth
month, and abstain as I have done
these many years?" (Zech. vii. 2.)
The answer given by the Lord was :
"When ye fasted and mourned in
the fifth and seventh months during
these seventy years, was it unto me
or for my sake that ye fasted? And
if ye eat and drink, is it not your-
selves that enjoy it ? " (Zech. vii.
5, 6.) The command which the
Lord subsequently gave through his
prophet did not enact fasting, but
virtue and justice ; as he says, " Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts, and saith,
Execute true judgment ; and act with
mercy and with compassion each to-
wards his brother. Do not oppress
the widow or the orphan, the
stranger or the poor; and let none
of you contemplate evil against his
brother in your hearts." (Zech. vii. 9,
10.) He then goes on further to say,
" Thus saith the Lord of Hosts :
The fasts of the fourtb.the fifth, the
seventh, and the tenth months, shall
become unto the house of Judah
mirth andgladness, and joyous feasts,
but truth and peace shall ye love."
(Zech. vii. 10.) Know that by TRUTH
is meant that abstract and immutable
wisdom, which, as we stated before,
contemplates that everlasting truth
which knoweth no change; by PE\CE
is meant the moral qualities of the
mind, by means of which peace and
good- wiil are maintained ou earth.
But, to resuir.e : Should it be as-

serted by those who strive to assume
the semblance of excessive zeal and
devotion for the law, (as it is to such
only that our remarks apply,) that,
in tormenting their bodies and re-
nouncing every joy, their object is
solely to imprint a salutary lesson on
the faculties of their soul, by in-
clining somewhat to the one extreme,
in accordance with our own recom-
mendations in this very chapter;
we answer them that they are
greatly in error : For the law did not
enact its observances and prohibi-
tions, except for the purpose of keep-
ing man at due distance from either
extreme ; and proper obedience to
the law is consequently, of itself,
sufficient to attain that aim without
the further restraint of self-enacted
statutes. Thus the prohibition of
certain foods, the caution against
sinful or promiscuous intercourse,
the matrimonial rites and ceremo-
nies, together with all the restrictions
which limit the connubial interc
by totally interdicting it at certain
times and seasons : All these prohi-
bitions were commanded by the Holy
One, (blessed be He!) not only m
order to prevent the inordinate in-
dulgence of the passions, but, by
means of temporary abstinence, to
accustom us to that abstemiousness
which ought to be fixed and rooted
in our soul.

In like manner, what the law com-
mands respecting the giving of tithes,
the gleanings of the harvest, forgot-
ten sheaves, the corners of the field,
the single grapes, and also the law
of Shmitah, (the septennial agrarian
rest and manumission of slaves,) and
of the jubilee, the duty of charity,
and to relieve the pressing wants of
our fellow-creatures : All these are
intended to incline us towards good-
nature, and to guard us against chur-
lishness or ill-nature until goodness
of heart becomes confirmed in us.

Most of the commandments may
be tested by this standard ; and it
will be found that they guide and re-
gulate the faculties of the soul. Thus
revenge and resentment are prohi-
bited in the law, when it is said,
" Thou shalt not revenge or resent."
"Thou shalt surely help with him."
" Thou shalt surely restore it to him.'»

144

MORALITY OF THE RABB1ES.

These and all such commands are
intended to weaken the aptitude for
wrath or avarice. Again : It is said,
" Thou shall rise up before the hoary
head, and honour the face of the old."
"Honour thy father and mother."
"Depart not from the word which
they shall tell thee." These and
commands of the like nature are in-
tended to do away with the aptitude
for arrogance, and to encourage that
of modesty ; and, in order to prevent
our proceeding to the extreme of un-
becoming bashfulness, we are told,
"Thou shalt reprove and exhort thy
brother." " Ye shall dread no man,"
so as to inspire us with a becoming
degree of self-confidence; that we
may persevere in the path of mode-
ration. Should any one (doubtless
from want of proper knowledge and
sense) enforce these commands with
additional rigour, add to the list of
meats that are prohibited, restrict
connubial intercourse to a degree
more narrow than the law permits,
divide all his money amongst the
poor, or devote it as a gift to the
sanctuary, and thus outstep the gifts
and donatives appointed by the law :
All these would be improper actions,
which would imperceptibly lead him
to reprehensible extremes.

A most remarkable confirmation
of these my assertions, by our Rab-
bies of blessed memory, will be found
in the Talmud, Treatise Nedarim
(chap. 9 ;) where those are greatly
blamed who bind themselves by
oaths and voluntary vows, till they
cannot stir out of the mental fetters
in which they are chained by their
own act and deed. The language
there used is as follows : R. Idai
saith, in the name of R.Isaac, "Dost
thou think the prohibitions of the
law are not sufficient, but must pre-
sume to enact prohibitions of thy
own accord?" This perfectly ac-
cords with what we said, Moderation
is the command of the law; every
deviation is reprehensible.

From all that we have hitherto
(To be

stated it is evident, that the duty of
man is to observe the strict line of
moderation, and never to incline to-
wards any extreme, except in cases
where the restoration of his soul's
health absolutely requires that oppo-
sition should be offered to, and a
stand made against, the inroads of
disease ; in like manner as the skil-
ful physician, whenever he observes
the least sign of approaching ill health
in any of his patients, has'immediate
recourse to the necessary restoratives,
and thus prevents the sickness from
increasing to a degree which would
require the application of violent
remedies ; or, as a. decaying limb is
carefully nursed, and not exposed to
any pernicious exertions, but, on the
contrary, every remedy is applied
that may restore it to pristine'strength,
or may at least stay the progress of
decay : Thus, likewise, the moral
man is bound constantly to examine
his inclinations, carefully to investi-
gate his actions, and daily to search
into the bent of his soul ; and if he
finds himself inclining towards either
extreme, immediately to apply the
proper remedy, and not suffer the
evil aptitude to acquire strength by
a repetition of the actions which it
engenders, as we stated before. He
is likewise bound to be mindful of
his defects, and strive to remedy
them. For it is impossible that any
man should be perfect and free of all
faults. Philosophy teaches us, that
it is most difficult and rare to dis-
cover a man whom nature has en-
dowed with every perfection, moral
as well as mental. This we find con-
firmed in many passages of the sacred
Scriptures : " Behold, he puts no trust
in his servants, and his angels he
charges with folly." (Job iv.
18.) " How shall man be pure
or the woman-born be righteous ? "
(Job xv. 14.) And thus likewise
saith Solomon : " For there ;js no
man so righteous on earth, that he
should do good and never sin."
(Ecclesiastes vii. 20.)

continued.)

To the query of B. E. we intend to reply in our next.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 4fi, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FOURTH DAY OF TEBATH, 5595.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1834.

NO. 10.

I. THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS.

GENIUS is not the birth of any particular age or clime, nor is it confined
to sect or nation. It is the free gift, the most valuable boon, of Provi-
dence ; conferred on few, but these few, not selected from one nation
of the earth, but from amongst all, for the benefit of the whole of man-
kind. But though we know and acknowledge, that the salutary influence
of these men is universal, like that of the sun ; yet, such is the feeling
implanted within us, that each nation claims, as exclusively its own, the
fame of the great men whom it has produced. Thus Britain glories in
her Newton, Poland in Copernicus, Italy in Galileo, &c., &c. ; as if these
illustrious men adorned the land only which gave them birth, instead
of being, as they really are, the universal property and ornament of the
entire human species. Nor can we blame this innocent egotism, which
induces us to consider the glory of our countrymen as our own, when
we reflect that the moral influence of a nation is founded, not on numbers
or on wealth, but on the bright example which its illustrious men
bequeath, and the veneration which they excite in other nations.

The Jewish people have in no age been deficient in men gifted with genius
of the very first order ; nor is there any science in which some Jewish
name does not rank high amongst its most eminent professors. But the
fate of their nation influenced their own, and but few of them enjoy that
universal renown which ought to be the portion of the many who still
remain unknown. Our Magazine is devoted to the literature of the
Hebrews. Those amongst our brethren whose glorious works are hidden
by the hand of time, and by the obscurity of a language not generally
known or studied, it is our duty, as it is our pride, to introduce to our
readers. But whilst Albo and Arama, Lateph and Abarbanel imprint their
profound wisdom and pure morality on our pages ; whilst through our
humble labours their illustrious memories become revived, their admirable
writings are rendered familiar, and their instruction profitable, to many
who hitherto scarcely knew of their existence ; shall we not likewise be
permitted to devote an article to that extraordinary young man whom we
saw arise amongst us, and whom we lost ere the meed of admiration, so
justly his due, had time to burst from the lips of his astonished brethren ?
Other publications have paid homage to his fame, and dropped a tear over
his early grave. Abroad, the voice of the Jew has uttered the deep lament,
at the untimely loss which the nation has sustained.* We, his countrymen

* Vide Der Jude : Periodische Blatter fur Religion und Getrixsens Frei'ieit — (" The
Jew : Periodical Pages on Religion and Freedom of Conscience '') edited by Dr. G. Riesser
at Altona. No?. 23 and 24, dated 1 1th and 2:2.1 of Jamiary, 1 833,

D

146 THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LXJMLEY DAVIDS.

in a double sense, — we who feel that his glorious fame is reflected even on
us, — we deem it our sacred duty to make our humble pages a record of his
undying name. This sainted spirit claims kindred with our ancient sages ;
and posterity will hereafter say, "ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS WAS A BRITISH
JEW. To the honour and welfare of his brethren he devoted the best energies
of his youthful and richly-stored 'mind : But his contemporaries were not
ungrateful. British Jews knew his worth, felt his loss, and mourned his
untimely death."

ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS was born in the year 1811; and he died
before he had completed his twenty- first year, on the 19th of July, 1832.
During the short period of his life he wrote A Grammtir of the Turkish Lan~
(juuye, with a Preliminary Discourse on the Language and Literature «f the
Turkish Nation, fyc. ; a work which called forth, from the most competent
judges of the subject, praises so unqualified, remarks so just in themselves,
so honourable to the young author, that we cannot forbear quoting one of
them : — *' We are informed that the author of this volume has not yet
completed his twenty-first year ; and if we were disposed to think very
highly indeed of the learning and research which it displays, even had
they marked the labour of grey hairs, how much more must we prize and
estimate them when we learn that the extraordinary effort proceeds from
the verge of boyhood ? " (London Literary Gazette, June 16, 1832.) This
his great work has been honoured with the applause of the mighty Mon-
arch the language of whose people it illustrates. It secures to its author
immortal fame, and a place among the worthies, not only of his own
nation but of mankind. But DAVIDS was a Jew. He felt the dignity, as
well as the duties, conferred on him by that name ; he loved, he worked
for, his brethren. We have before us a Lecture* delivered by him, (at the
age of nineteen,) before " the Society for the Cultivation of Hebrew Litera-
ture," on the "Philosophy of the Jews," a Lecture so replete with deep
learning and profound research, so strongly stamped with true piety and
innate purity of mind, that we are forced to exclaim, " All mankind must
lament his death — but to the Jewish people his loss is irreparable ! "

This short Lecture is a miniature type of its author. In the few years of
his life he acquired a fund of knowledge so extensive and so varied, that,
were we to estimate age by the quantum of learning attained, he was in
this view a very aged man indeed : And in these few pages he has poured
forth the treasures of his mind so abundantly, that were the size of a book
to be calculated according to the number and grandeur of the thoughts
which it contains, this little pamphlet would rank as a large folio.

The subject of his Lecture, as we stated before, is the philosophy of the
Jews. This important subject he introduces to his hearers in three divi-
sions : 1. The Biblical, or the philosophy of the Sacred Scriptures. 2. The
Scholastic, or Rabbinical Philosophy taught in the different Schools of the
Jews. 3. The Modern, or the Philosophy of those learned Jews who have
flourished since the destruction of their Schools.

The very undertaking of a Lecture on so important a subject, and the
lucid order with which it is introduced, indeed its entire arrangement, by so

* Lecture on die Philosophy of the Jew.s : delivered at the London Tavern, to the So-
ciety for the Cultivation of Hebrew Literature, December 23, 1830. By the late Arthur
Lumley Davids, Member of the Asiatic Society of Paris, See. &c.

THE MEMORY OF LVilLEY ARTHUR DAVIDS. H7

young a man, is enough to excite our admiration. It has unhappily been
but too frequently the case, that men gifted with brilliant talents enter on
their career by losing themselves in the aberrations of speculative infi-
delity ; and it is only when their mental powers become matured in the
school of research, when dear-bought experience teaches them the utter
fallacy of all human systems of faith, that they, late and repenting, are
happy in retracing their steps, and again sheltering themselves in the
bosom of that Immutable Truth which in their youthful fondness they
thought they could improve. But such was not DAVIDS. He com-
menced his literary life with that perfect conviction of the infinite
value of a Divine Revelation which others are happy to arrive at as the
precious fruit of many years of deep reflection ; and he found, in the
religious records of his fathers, that source of eternal truth and perfect
wisdom which alone confers real happiness. Every reflecting reader of
his short work will find in him the pure soul, the noble daring, of a Mac-
cabee. As those warriors and statesmen of eternal renown strove with
sword in hand to maintain the unsullied honour of our nation, and to vindi-
cate the purity of our faith ; so did he, with peaceful style, but with an
equally lofty mind, endeavour to elevate the souls and extend the'immor-
tal fame of the children of Israel. Thus he says, and says truly, •

" The ancient Jews were the only people who had a philosophical idea of the Divinity,
the Creator of all things. They believed the Divine Nature to be incorporeal, self-existent,
aiid infinite, with the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.''

The Mosaic account of the creation, its truth and sublimity, he illustrates
to us in few but striking words. The proof which he adduces, that the
Biblical cosmogony acquaints us with the movement of the earth, i-
own, and will by many be considered to be most felicitous. His words
are : —

" From the sublime description of the works of creation, contained in the first chapter
of Genesis, it appears that there was a time when the earth, the heavens, and
the planetary systems had not been called into existence by the Omnipotent. In the first
period of the exercise of creative inflnence, the whole was one chaotic, terraqueous mass,
unformed and shapeless, in which, as in the present formation of our globe, the aqueous
parts were predominant ; and over this, in the absence of the yet uncreated tight, its ne-
gative quality, darkness, bore unrivalled sway. On the first day of creation, the primary
impulse of motion appears to have been given to the earth by the rETTTD of the Divine
Spirit ; and I think I shall be able to prove to yon, that bv this impulse the diurnal mo-
tion of the earth was effected. T\N VP ' Let there be light,' said the Deity, and tight
1 ; and God saw that it was fit to perform the office of its creation ; and He divided
between the tight and between the darkness ; and God called the light m * ' day,' and
the darkness he called nr? ' night ; ' and the evening and the morning was one day.'

" We will now pause awhile, to examine this most important passage. We here dis-
cover the existence of tight, and of night and day, before the creation of the sun ; and
we are naturally anxious to learn how this was performed. To a svperficial observer,
!iing tike a doubt suggests itself : but to an attentive inquirer, nothing but true phi-
losophy appears. He discovers the creation of primitive light pre-existent to its present
source of emanation, but not of existence — the sun ; into which, on the fourth day, this
primitive tight was collected : he discovers the existence of day and night previous to the
creation of the sun as a luminary ; and, in answer to the inquiry of how this was effected,
he discovers that it could have been accomplished in no other way than by the revolution
earth caused by the firsf impulse of motion given to it by the Divine Spirit : and
he will thus discover that the revolution of the earth, and not that of the sun, was consi-
. by the ancient Jews, as by the Newtonian philosophers, to be the cause of day and

v 2

148 THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS.

night ; and which opinion I hope to be able farther to sxipport in the course of my Lec-
ture.

" The fact that we have gained from the previous examination is, that the earth re-
volved ; but if we proceed a little further, we shall perceive in what manner this is per-
formed. irtH DV "*pl TPT 113? TP1 ' And the evening and the morning was one day ; '
thereby informing us that the course of this revolution was from 1"G? ' evening,' place of
sun-setting, or west, to ip^ ' morning,' place of sun-rise, or cast ; and thus clearly
pointing out to us the revolution of the terrene globe from west to east."

Whether or not this system will stand the test of modern science, we do
not now intend to decide. We ourselves go but partially with him ;
though we think that every candid mind must bear testimony to the pro-
fundity of thought and the ingenuity of conjecture evinced by this very
young lecturer.

He next adverts to the creation of man, adopting the ideas of R. Joseph
Albo, on this subject.* Want of space does not permit us to give his
words ; and we are, from the same cause, compelled merely to notice, en passant,
the just ideas and great knowledge he displays on the geometrical pro-
portions of the ark of Noah and on the subject of the Deluge ; an his-
torical fact, which by the aid of geology, chemistry, and other modern
sciences, he triumphantly establishes against the doubts of the half-learned
sceptic, and the opposition of the scoffing infidel.

His illustration of a passage in Holy Writ, which, since the adoption of
the Copernican system, has given rise to much cavil and controversy, is
likewise his own, and evinces a profound and intimate knowledge of philo-
logy. He says,

" We will now, gentlemen, proceed to investigate another most important point of this
period of Jewish philosophy ; one which, through the ignorance of translators and com-
mentators, has bid fair to eclipse its whole system, and to throw all the science of the an-
cient Hebrews into shade : it is no less than the sun, according to our translators, stand-
ing still at the command of Joshua. I shall proceed to show you, that the text of this
important passage says no such thing ; and that the error has crept in throxigh the unphi-
losophical conceptions which its translators have formed of their original.

" The passage in Hebrew is thus : —

rpyb ID^I b«"ity >ii vzh nD»rrm mm nn DYO mmb runm w m
op11— iy ^ny mri uratyn DTI : pH* poi?i mri DII
?N-«!>I D^ntyn "fill tynutfi "rain iurn lacr^ roinn

: D^nn DVO

" Our translators have expressed this : — ' Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day
when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel j and he said, in
the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thoti still upon Gibeon ; and thou moon, in the valley of
Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged
themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher ? So the sun
stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.'

" Now, it is essential to our rightly imderstanding this passage, to examine both the
Hebrew and the English word for sun. The Hebrew language, in accordance with strict
philosophical principles, has three names for sun* The English has also three, but they are
compound terms, thus — solar orb, solar fame, solar light ; yet we unphilosophically use
the word sun in all these senses : we say the sun is round, the sun is powerful, the sun
is obscured, though we mean the solar orb is round, the solar flame is powerful, the solar
light is obscured. This philosophical accuracy exists, however, primarily in Hebrew.
The solar orb is expressed by no compound term : the word cin expresses this signinca-

* See Lecture page 5 ; and Hebrew Review, page 25.

THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LUMLE1 DAVIDS. 149

tion ; so rren the solar flame or fire ; so likewise tTOB, the word used by Joshua, the tolar
light. This is also extended, as far as philosophical propriety demands, to the Moon. We
find in Hebrew two names applied to this planet, TO}} the ' disc ' or ' orh,' and rrv the
light reflected from it : heat not being one of its qualities, we find no word expressive of the
lunar flame or fire. ' That the sense of COO and rrv is solar and lunar light, is not only
evident from a multitude of places in Scripture where these words occur, hut also from the
passage of Joshua itself; for, if we translate C-2TB, ' solar orb,' ' solar flame,' or ' sun,'
or rrv ' lunar orb ' or ' moon,' the one must hare rested upon Gibeon, the other in the
valley of Ajalon. This indeed would be an extraordinary system of philosophy — the *un
•i upon a mountain, and the moon in a. valley. All this, however, is fully explained
by following the philosophical idea of the original, in which the solar and lunar light is
stayed from advancing and receding upon the opposite hemispheres of the globe, not by the
agency of the sun, but by that of the earth itself."

In support of this opinion he adds the subjoined erudite remarks : —

"The texts to which I alluded are those, Psalm xix. 5. nrn ^nn — c C"2C7 ' In them
(the heavens) hath he placed a tent or receptacle for the shemesh, which is as a bridegroom
cmniny out of his chamber.' tree here cannot mean the sun, surely ; there is no recepta-
cle for that, without we conceive it fixed in a socket ; nor does it come out of its cham-
ber : but translate shemesh ' solar light,' and you will make sense of the passage : ' In
the heavens hath he placed a receptacle for the solar rays,' namely, the D"in or ' orb of the
sun.' Exodus xvi. 21 : irrDcn C2rr> ' and the shemesh became hot.' I cannot ima-
gine how the orb of the sun grew hot. Jonah iv. 8 : ' And the shemesh beat upon the
head of Jonah.' But the most conclusive is that of Psalm cxxi., verse 6 : ' And the
shemesh C?3t3 shall not smite thee by day, nor the yareach m' by night.' Was this in-
tended, that the orb of the snn and the orb of the moon should not descend from heaven to
smite ? or was it, that their rays and beams should not affect those spoken of in the
text ? I need not trouble you with more examples on this subject, though I could produce at
least ten times as many proofs. But I think it unnecessary to produce any further evidence
than the passage of Joshua itself, for the sun can only be said to rest on a mountain by
its rays, the moon in a valley by its beams. If it were the sun. the orb or body of the
eun, here spoken of, and not its light, we prove this, that the sun had a motion given
to it which it never had before, co-instantaneous with a cessation of that motion ; or, in
other words, that it moved, and was in a state of rest, at one and the same time, — which re-
duces this argument ad absurdum.

" The passage quoted from the book of Jasher throws considerable light on this subject,
for it explains the relative position of the sun : It says, ' The urao stood still QTacrt TTU in
the horizon.' Thus it appears that the sun was sinking in the west, casting its last rays
on Gibeon, when Joshua, perceiving the near termination of the day, requested its prolon-
gation, &c. The Chinese have preserved a confused account, in their annals, of the ' sun
not going down during the space of ten days.' This happened in the time of Yan, (their se-
venth monarch fromFohi,) who was contemporary with Joshua. Herodotus says, (lib. ii.
cap. 14.2,) f.i> TOIVVV Tovrcfi ^<f j(govtf Ttrpeocts e\fyovt£ rjOeuv TOV ij\iov avarei\ai' tvBa
re vvv KaraSverai, evdevrtv 5<s tiravrei\ai- KO.I evBev vvv a»reA.A.ei, tvQairra 5js Karaf3t]vai.
He was told by the Egyptian priests, that from the reign of their first king to that of Se-
thon, the sun had risen four times in an unusual manner ; that he had twice risen where he
now sets ; and had twice set where he now rises.

" This, though corrupted by its passage through the hands of the Egyptian priests and
the wonder-telling Herodotus, may still be traced to a traditionary relation of the miracle
of Joshua."

We are not prepared to say, that, without further examination, we adopt
this exposition : Nevertheless we are bound to respect this ingenious effort
to reconcile the truth of scriptural narrative with the lights of modern
science.

Our limited space forbids us to follow the Lecturer, as we could have
wished, in his_ discussion on every subject which he illumines with the

150 THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS.

lucid rays of his explanation. But when we inform our readers, that,
in a Lecture not exceeding twenty-seven octavo pages, he has, in addition to
the topics which we have specified, not crowded into his learned pamphlet,
but methodically introduced and powerfully illustrated, the following sub-
jects : — The astronomical knowledge of Job ; the philosophy of the
Hebrew language ; the acquaintance of the ancient Jews with the zodiac ;
the proofs that the art of dialling was known to them, as was the circula-
tion of the blood ; their opinion respecting the immortality of the soul ;
the origin of the allegorical style of the Rabbies ; an investigation into the
rise and tenets of the three great Jewish sects, the Pharisees, the Essenes,
and the Sadducees ; a sketch of the Jewish colony at Alexandria, and of
the writers of that school ; the origin and principles of Cabbala ; the
schools of Spain and the philosophical system of Maimonides ; and lastly,
the complete outline of the Mendilsohnian system : — When we say, that all
these subjects are treated upon in this short Lecture, with a degree of pro-
foundness, talent, and zeal which, though it may not always convince, yet
never fails to interest us ; we think our readers will unite with us in the
expression of unfeigned admiration at this unequalled effort of a mere
youth. As the sun is reflected and shines in the small but brilliant dew-
drop, so did science, wisdom, and pure religion shine in his soul, and
became reflected in his discourse ; till, worn out by the incessant influence
of solar light, the attenuated dew-drop was dissolved into ether, and
soared aloft to rejoin its heavenly Source.

The short Lecture on which we have offered some remarks is not all that
he had planned and commenced for the benefit of his nation. We speak
not now of his forcible and argumentative letters in the " Times " news-
paper on the subject of Jewish emancipation ; but of the Herculean task
to write a " BIBLICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA," for which he began to prepare and
collect materials at the early age of fifteen, and at the very time he was
most ardently pursuing his studies of the Turkish language and of its
cognates. This work — the plan of which is most comprehensive, and
would have afforded full scope for the developement of his manifold and
extensive acquirements— death prevented him from executing ; and in it,
our nation in particular, and Biblical Students in general, have sustained a
loss, the magnitude of which can best be estimated when we say, that,
notwithstanding the numerous and valuable productions on Biblical and
Hebrew literature, a work like that which DAVIDS projected and com-
menced still remains a desideratum ; and that we know not, at the present
day, any one or two men who would complete the undertaking, which his
youthful ardour, zeal for the literary glory of his people, and just confidence
in his own powers prompted him to undertake.

That a mind thus ardent, stored with uncommon knowledge, and gifted
with great zeal and perseverance, would, in the progress of its riper years,
have realized the glorious promise of its youth, is certain. But the dis-
pensations of Providence are inscrutable ! Bred to a liberal profession,
(the law,) possessed of a competent fortune, within a few weeks of that
age which was to make him the uncontrolled master of his own actions ;
in the midst of his pure and lofty aspirations for the welfare of mankind,
and for the glory and improvement of his people, he suddenly became a
victim to that dire disease wliich spread its ravages widely over every
country in Europe, and was not stopped by the ocean in its baneful pro-

THE MEMORY OF ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS. 151

gress. Undermined by the too powerful ardour of his soul, exhausted by
nightly vigils and incessant labour, his corporeal powers were but ill-calcu-
lated to withstand the violent cholera, with which, during the night of the
17th of July, 1832, he was attacked. Fearful of alarming his beloved
mother, he suffered in silence ; and when the morning made known his
disease, and brought him medical aid, the succour came too late, and
proved to be unavailing. His pure spirit fled to rejoin the Source of all
good, from which it emanated. Him we pity not ; the duration of his
life is not to be measured by years. Early he accomplished the purpose
for which an all-wise Providence gave him being, and reached the goal,
ripe, not in years, but in knowledge, in virtue, and in fame. He is happy
in the reward which awaits him who " eschews evil and does good." In
paying our tribute to his departed worth, we do not mean to praise him :
Truly does the poet say,

"Can honour's voice provoke the silent dust,

Or praises soothe the dull cold ear of death ? "

It is as an example that we hold him forth. Sons of Israel, look up to him;
and though you may not equal, yet strive to imitate him.

To his mother, his bereaved, widowed mother, who in him has lost her
pride, her only joy, — to her we presume not to offer consolation. It is true,
few mothers ever sustained a greater loss ; but it is likewise true, that few
sons left a more well-earned fame. The splendid testimonial of a Monarch's
approbation and regret * shines not more brightly than the undying name
of her son. He is departed ; but his fame replaces him. It is not to her
that we address consolation : We offer it where it is most wanted, — to our
brethren, to the Jewish nation throughout the world. In him we have all
lost one of our brightest ornaments, who performed much, and promised
still more. His powerful efforts contributed to vindicate the Jewish fame
from the unjust reproaches which the prejudice of ages had heaped upon
it. The dearest aspiration of his pure and fervent mind was to improve
the moral and mental condition of his brethren. We have lost him : Let
us not forfeit the legacy he has bequeathed to us. - The community which
could boast of an ARTHUR LUMLEY DAVIDS amongst its youth, owes
much to its rising generation. His great example is before us ; and it is
worthy of our particular attention, that the brightest gem in the coronal
of his fame rests on his intimate conviction of, and strict adherence to, the
profound maxim of the royal philosopher, that Din rrttffcO "n
" The fear of the Lord is the first of all knowledge." (Proverbs i. 7.)

We have been favoured with the following lines from a friend, which we
insert, though we fear our translation falls far short of their merits.

The Turkish Sultan, Mahmoud II., caused a splendid diamond ring to be presented
to Mrs. Davids ; accompanied by a letter, expressing hia high approbation of the work
dedicated to him, and his deep regret at the author's early death.

152 CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

lap1? *h rnpfc nw
nyn N3 •w : nrin

rnir in^n

: nan \ Tin

AT Arthur's death two widows hlend

Their sorrows ! Loud, with streaming eyes,
" My only joy ! My dearest friend !
" My son is gone ! " the mother cries :
Whilst Zion's daughter, sunk in silent woe,
Weeps her lost gem j her proudest hope laid low.

The mother sighs, " What grief like mine ! "

" Mine," Zion cries, " is greater yet ;
" His name, Ms fame alike are thine,

" Whilst my sun is untimely set :
" His memory to thee supplies his stead :
" Thy son is yet alive ! My son is dead ! "

- «*• -

If. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. - NO. III.

(Continued from page 110J

PREFACE TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE, " ZERAIM."
BY MAIMONJDES.

WHEN Joshua the son of Nun preserved intact, and were transmit-

(peace be with him !) approached his ted unto the men of the Great As-

end, he taught to the elders the ex- sembly. These were Haggai, Zacha-

positions which had been transmitted riah, Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah,

to him, and such decisions as, during Mishael, Azariah, Ezra the Scribe,

the time of his administration, had Nehemiah the son of Chachalia,

been unanimously adopted. After Mordecai, Zerubbabel the son of

his death the elders decided by a ma- Salathiel. These prophets were

jority all cases on which a diversity joined by other sages to the full

of [opinion arose. Their administra- number of one hundred and twenty ;

tion is mentioned in the book of men learned in the law and records.

Joshua : " And Israel served the These likewise occupied themselves

Lord all the days of Joshua, and all with the promulgation of the ancient

the days of the elders who survived traditions, confirmed precedents, and

him, for a length of time." (xxiv. established customs. The last sur-

31.) These elders transmitted the vivor of this venerable Assembly is

tradition they had received from the first amongst the sages enumer-

Joshua (peace be with him !) to the ated in the Mishna, — Simon the

prophets, who taught each other ; Just, cohen gadol or High Priest.

and in every age fresh decisions were After him the traditions were trans-

added as the result of deliberations mitted in uninterrupted succession *

caused by particular cases ; and the until the days of R. Jehuda Hanasi.

sages of every age considered the He was pre-eminent amongst his

unanimous decisions of their prede- contemporaries, combining within

cessors as precedents on which they himself all good and praiseworthy

founded their own, and which they qualities to such a degree that the

did not presume to contravene or title of Rabbenu Hakadosh, "our

dispute. Thus the traditions were * vide Hebrew Review, page 42.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF HABBIXICAL WRITERS.

holy Rabbi," was conferred on him
by his own, and confirmed by sub-
sequent ages. His wisdom, like his
virtue, was commensurate with his
rank : As the Rabbies say in the
Talmud, (Treatise Gittin, folio 59.)
" From Moses until our holy Rabbi,
we have never seen learning and
eminence combined in one man."
He was most pious, meek, and ab-
stemious ; as it is said in the Tal-
mud, (Treatise Sotah, folio 49,)
" Since the death of our holy Rabbi,
meekness and the fear of sin have
left us." He was most eloquent,
and skilled beyond all others in the
sacred language ; so that even learn-
ed men were instructed in the idiom
of that language by his servants and
attendants. (Talmud, treatise Rosh
hashanah, folio 26.) His wealth,
and power were most princely.
(Baba meziah, folio 84.) He was
most zealous to acquire learning, and
to promulgate the knowledge of the
law in Israel. He collected and
compiled the halackahs, the deci-
sions and sayings of the wise men,
from the days of Moses unto his
own, and formed them into one book
called the Mishna, which contains
the explanation of all the command-
ments of the law. The greater part
of these are traditions directly from
Moses ; some are decisions unani-
mously adopted from logical deduc-
tions ; and others are matters on
which a diversity of opinion pre-
vailed. These last are preserved
along with the various arguments
that were held respecting them ; as,
" Such was the opinion of one, and
such was that of another." Where
one man only differed in opinion
from many others, the respective
arguments are minutely given — a
most useful method, respecting
which we shall say more hereafter.
We must here point out an import-
ant circumstance; namely, we find
the expression frequently used in the
Talmud,*'::? n ::••:? -rr'rn, "a
decision of Moses from Sinai." Now
we know, that all the laws and their
explanations date from Moses and
Sinai. We likewise find different
opinions entertained respecting the
derivation, founded on Scripture
analogy, of certain customs and ob-
servances, which may perhaps tempt

the untutored to suppose that such
observances rest on analogy only,
and are not commanded by Moses
on Sinai. It is therefore needful to
know, that the exposition of all the
laws was given to Moses at Sinai ;
and accordingly no one of our sages
learned in the law, from the days of
Moses until the present time, ever
took upon himself to deviate from
that explanation : As, for instance,
to maintain that the command of the
written law, " Eye for eye," (Exodus
xxi. 24.) was to be literally accom-
plished. So that if any man blinded
another, he was to lose his own eyes ;
instead of the punishment being
commuted into a fine, as the verbal
explanation of the law directs.
Again, the written law says, "And
ye shall take, on the first day, the
fruit of the tree hadar." (Levit.
xxiii. 40.) The literal translation of
hadar is "goodly" or "beautiful."
Still none of our sages ever attempt-
ed to assert that the fruit was any
other than citron, or to substitute in
its stead pine-apples, or any other
beautiful fruit. S'or did any of them
assert the boughs of the tree abotk
to be any other than myrtle, though
the word aboth itself means ' ' thick : "
Or that the command, " Ye shall cut
her hands off," (Deut. xxv. 12,) is to
be literally enforced, instead of the
fine which the verbal explanation
enacts : Or that the command re-
specting the priest's daughter who
is sentenced to the stake, (Levit. xxi.
9,) and the betrothed maiden who is
sentenced to be stoned to death,
(Deut. xxvi. 21,) had any application
to the first except she were a -named
woman ; or to the second except her
offence was committed subsequent
to her bein^ betrothed. In these
and all similar cases no difference of
opinion ever existed, as Moses fully
and explicitly Md down the precise
meaning of the law in its general
bearing, special applicationMand mi-
nute details. But respecting some
others, although no dispute exists as
to their precise meaning, yet their
analogy to and connection with
other passages in the law to which
they have a reference, have caused
differences, as such analogy, connec-
tion, or reference may be more evi-
dent to one than it is to another,

154

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BABBIES.

being altogether matter of opinion :
Whereas the law remains positive
and immutable. In like manner we
find in the Talmud, (treatise Succah,
folio 35,) respecting the fruit hadar
or citron : One opinion is, the word
Tin hadar is derived from 11 to
dwell, and denotes that the fruit
rests on the tree during the winter.
Another opinion is, that the words,
Tin Y$ ^B, " fruitof the tree hadar,"
denote that the flavour of the tree
is the same as that of the fruit, — which
is actually the case with the citron.
A third opinion is, that hadar, from
dar " to dwell," is given to the tree
because it " dwells," or grows, near
the water side. The fact that the
fruit hadar is a citron, is not im-
parted to us by, and rests not for its
authority upon, their discussion ; it
having never been understood differ-
ently by all Israel from the days of
Moses to our own. These opinions are
but so many philological disquisitions
in order to arrive at the true etymo-
logy of a word used in Holy Writ.
And in all other instances when they
argue any point of law, they never
attempt to found the law upon any
thing by means of analogy, but on
the contrary to explain any probable
analogy by means of the law. They
received from Sinai the thirteen rules
or canons of logic, by the aid and
application of which they were en-
abled to deduce and logically to de-
monstrate the accordance of their

decisions with the law. But all such
cases as we have here enumerated
cannot be called " decisions of Mo-
ses from Sinai : " As, for instance,
that the fruit of the tree hadar is a
citron, does not require to be a de-
cision of Moses from Sinai; for the
fruit hadar is, by tradition and
usage, from time immemorial, esta-
blished and proved to be a citron
only. Nor does any decision arrived
at by means of logical deduction,
and the application of the thirteen
canons, require to be called " a hala-
chah of Moses from Sinai ; " which
appellation is limited to such cases
as bear no reference to other pas-
sages of the law, and are not deduc-
ible by the thirteen canons and lo-
gical inference, but rest on tradition,
and are thereby approved as true,
and confirmed by analogy. These
cases we do not find that our Rab-
bies ever attempted to establish by
means of logical deduction, quota-
tion, or analytical reasoning; but
received them at once as the direct
commands of the Deity to Moses.
As an instance we mention; The Uf
of the phylacteries, their knot, black
leather-tongues, traverse, and square
receptacles, are halachah of Moses
from Sinai : Such are many more
of a similar description, of which
we will treat more largely in their
respective places ; but at present
we say, that traditions are divided
into five classes.

(To be continued.)

.III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 142 J

CHAPTER XVII.

THE word CDlpD "place" is the
name given to the space which cir-
cumscribes a body ; and also to that
quantum of space filled up by the
extension of which such body is
possessed : Consequently what is
incorporeal or immaterial cannot
be said to be " in a place ; " and
therefore it is impossible to apply
that expression either to the Deity,
or to the separate spiritual intelli-
gences ; they being neither material,

possessed of extension, nor occupy-
ing a certain space. Thus it is said
in the Sacred Scriptures, " The hea-
vens, and the heaven of heavens,
cannot contain thee : " (1 Kings
ix. 170 The meaning of which is,
" Thou dost not require any space
which thy presence fills up." — But
when Holy Writ in other places says,
" I will dwell amidst the children of
Israel ;" (Exodus xxix. 45 ;) and,
" the place which the Lord your
God will choose to let his name rest
there;" (Deuteronomy xii. 11 ;) the

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE HABBIES.

155

meaning is, not that the Holy One
requires any space for his abode, or
can be limited to any place ; but, as
the visible appearance of his glory is
by means of some object percepti-
ble to the senses, as fire or the pillar
of the cloud — as it is said, " And
the vision of the glory of the Lord
was like a consuming fire on the top
of the mountain ; " (Exodus xxiv.
17: and again, "The glory of the
Lord appeared in the cloud ; "
(Exodus xvi. 10;) "The angel of
the Lord appeared to him in a flame
of fire out of the midst of the thorn-
bush ;" (Exodus iii. 2 ;) when the
sudden appearance of the cloud, or
the wondrous flame in the midst of
the bush, was a demonstration to
the senses that the invisible glory
of the Deity rested therein — there-
fore Holy Writ uses the word "place"
to denote where this visible appear-
ance of the Divine Glory rests.
Thus then the Deity itself is not
only independent of space, but is
the space of the universe, which
finds its stay in him ; and therefore
He is so called, " Thou hast been
our stay (or dwelling) in every
age ; " (Psalm xci. 1 ;) namely,
" Thou art the place which supports
the universe." Accordingly our
Rabbies of blessed memory use the
word ^17^, " place," to designate
the Deity: "A* rri?^n 1"2,
" Blessed is the place, (or Deity,)
who gave the law to Israel." The
same expression we find applied in
Holy Writ : " And lift up his hand to
~ • ? "2 n the place, or the Deity."
(2 Kings v. 11.) The essence of a
thing is likewise called EUlpO; see
Talmud, treatise Schrunyoth, folio 1 .
"It is proved l^i;??^ from itself."
The same meaning applies to the
words, '• Blessed be the glory of
the Lord it: 17*;^ in itself;" (Ezek.
iii. 12;) that is to say, that the glory
of the Lord, which appeared visibly
to the prophet, is an immediate ema-
nation from his essence ; not that any
place can be assigned to his glory.*
Another subject which demands

* This explanation of onr author will en-
able us properly to understand the words of
Holy AVrit, " Behuld, space is with me."
(Exodus xxxiii. 21.) The Lord -aith, " Be-

our investigation is, whether the
words "direction," or "quarter,"
can be applied to the Deity. As
we find, " God is in the heavens
and thou art on earth;" (Eccles. v.
1 ;) and all sages are unanimous in
the opinion, that the heavens are the
abode of spiritual beings, although
they occupy no space. Hence the
conclusion might be drawn, that
though the Deity is immaterial, yet
the word " direction" or "quarter"
can with propriety be applied to him ;
that this would not assign to him
any materiality, as the soul, which is
spiritual, takes up its quarters in the
body, which is material, without
imbibing any materiality ; and as the
soul is not without the body, though
the soul is spiritual, and as such oc-
cupying no space, it nevertheless is
within a certain place which circum-
scribes it. In like manner we use
the expression, " the soul of the
wicked is punished in hell ; " al-
though that soul is spiritual and oc-
cupies no space, it nevertheless is cir-
cumscribed within the place, which
we call hell, appointed for its punish-
ment, for the sins committed in the
body. On the strength of this ex-
ample, a certain direction, or quar-
ter, such as lilrjh or low, might be
assigned to the Deity. For although
" high " or " lo»v " pre-supposes a
fixed place which cannot be assigned
to the Deity, nevertheless it may,
in defence of the above conclusion,
be maintained that absolute height
does not of necessity presuppose
any place ; as the highest of all or-
bits is not circumscribed by any
thing material, and consequently
occupies no place. But this opinion
rests on a wrong inference of Aristo-
tle, f who defines "place " to be the

hold, the space is with me, and I am not in
space : Nevertheless my presence will be-
come revealed to thee." — EDIT.

t Our author enters into a series of most
abstruse reasoning hi order to refute the in-
ference of Aristotle ; and though this rea-
soning is as judicious a.- lit1, we
are induced to omit it, inasmuch as it relates
to a theory concern:

which earth is said to be the lowest, water to
be the next, air to be above the water, lire
above the air, the orbit of the moon above
the fire &c., — a theory which at present is

altogether e sploded E i> I T o R .

1

J56

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES,

interior space of one body encompass
inganother; whence he infers that the
whole of th e universe is in no place, not
being surrounded with any external
matter. But the definition and the in-
ference are alike erroneous, as place
is not the inner space of one body
which surrounds another, but the
space which the inner body occupies.
Consequently the universe is in a
place, although not encompassed or
bounded by any thing material. We
therefore proceed to say, that the
opinion grounded on this inference
is wrong, and that high, low, or any
direction or quarter, cannot be applied
to the Deity, or to spiritual in-
telligences, any more than place can
be assigned to either. And when
Holy Writ says, " He that dwelleth
in the heavens," (Psalm ii. 4,) it is
because the fulness of his power is
most apparent in the heavenly crea-
tions, which are of nobler material
than those of the earth. Moreover
as " height " conveys to us a greater
idea of superiority, the Sacred Scrip-
tures use the expression accordingly.
Hence likewise the abode of spiritual
intelligences is said to be " on high ;"
though in reality, there is neither
" high "nor " low " before the Deity.
But in all.these cases the axiom of our
Rabbies holds good, that " the lan-
guage of Holy Writ assimilates itself
to the terms of parlance usual among
men." (Talmud, treatise Sanhedrin,
folio 63.)

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE third branch resulting 'from
the first essential principle, (" the
existence of the Deity,") is that
" the Holy One (blessed be HE !) is
independent of time ; " that is to say,
that His existence preceded the com-
mencement of time, and will conti-
nue after its termination, conse-
quently his duration and power are
infinite. For whatever is dependent
on time must be finite, as its dura-
tion and power cease with time ;
which is not the case with the Deity.
It is, however,needful to understand,
that when he is called pCHp, " The
primary or eldest of all beings," this
term is only used because language
does not offer a more appropriate
word. Logically, however, the word

is inapplicable to the Deity, as it
merely conveys the relation to a
something that is younger or secon-
dary ; as, for instance, Noah is flDlf?
" elder " than David, and Enoch
than Elijah, because the one lived
some time preceding that in which
the other lived ; though both Enoch
and Noah were younger than Adam
who preceded them, and is therefore
their pO1p or " elder." But when
such a word is applied to the Deity,
it does not and cannot bear any re-
lation to any other being whatsoever.
Were we, for instance, to say, " God
is older than the world," it would
merely imply that at a certain time,
when the world was not yet, he was ;
but his existence might thus be
bounded by time, in which case it
must likewise have been preceded by
time, commenced at some certain
and definite period, previous to
which it was non-existing. We have
already proved that which at any
time is non-existing to be but a pos-
sible existence, and consequently not
inherent, absolute, and unconditional.
Therefore the word polp is not to be
understood by us merely in a posi-
tive sense, — that he was prior to all
other beings, — but in a negative
sense, or that no other being or
non-existence was prior to Him.
His existence, then, is eternal, with-
out commencement as without end —
everlastingly immutable, as Holy
Writ says, " Who has preceded me :"
(Job xl. 1, 2.) And when the term
eternal is applied to the Deity, it
merely denotes that, subsequent to
Him, no other being will exist, or ra-
ther that He is interminable. For,
as it is impossible He should be pre-
ceded by any other being or by
non-existence, it is equally impossi-
ble He should be succeeded by either
the one or the other Accordingly
the words palp "first" and nm
" eternal " are but negative terms,
expressing that nothing precedes or
succeeds Him — blessed be HE !

If we assume that the duration of
time, which cannot be conceived by
human thought, did exist before the
creation, and will exist after the ter-
mination of the universe ; that the
difference between time, previous to
creation and subsequently is caused

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

157

by the order in which it is now pe-
riodically divided, through the move-
ments of the heavenly bodies, and
which was the opinion of our Rabbies
when " time " is by them called " the
order of time ; " (Bereshith Rabba,
chapter 2 ;) by which they mean that
the periodical division of time did
not exist previous to creation, but
time itself did : If we assume this,
there would in that case be two spe-
cies of time ; one which is deter-
mined through tbe'movement of the
heavenly bodies, which can be con-
ceived, and is subject to the relative
ideas of sooner, later, or coeval ; and the
second, which cannot be determined,
conceived, or subjected to the three
relative ideas we mentioned above,
as no object then existed to which
it bore any relation, or by means
of which it could become determined.
This last-mentioned species of time
may possibly be eternal ; and the or-
der of time established at the crea-
tion may proceed from_it. Thus all
errors and doubts respecting the es-
sence of time would become obviated.
Such doubts are those which relate
to the periodical division : as by its
means time past is separated from
that to come, it is inferred that the
first periodical division must have
been preceded by time ; and if
that time could not exist independ-
ent of a periodical order, and that or-
der results from the movement of the
heavenly bodies, such bodies must
have been coeval with time, or eternal.
This doubt, then, is completely remov-
ed by our assertion, that time may ex-
ist independent of periodical order or
division, and without any relation to
the sooner, the lattr, or the coeval,
which words are used as language does
not offer us any other more appropri-
ate. We say, in like manner, that ex-
ternally to the world there is neither
plenum nor vacuum, neither a fulness
nor a void, but in so doing we
use the word externally, because
we cannot meet with any other
by means of which we can convey
our idea: For if the universe has an
exterior, there must likewise be
either void or fulness ; consequently
we u?e a word, the true meaning of
which is opposed to what we say, as
we have no other by means of which
we can give expression to our

thoughts on the subject. And as it
is difficult to conceive the universe
terminating in, or bordering on, a
something which is neither fulness
nor vacuity ; and equally so to
imagine a duration of time previous
to creation, and to which the words
sooner or later cannot be applied, as
is done to time subsequent ; there-
fore our Rabbies say, "Man is not
permitted to investigate what is
above or below, what is before or
after." (Talmud, treatise Chagigah, fo-
lio 11.) By "above or below," they
mean what is external to the universe ;
" before or after" they apply to du-
ration of time and its termination.

The opinion we have here ad-
vanced,— namely, that there are two
distinct species of time, — is not con-
tradicted by R. Jehudah the son of
R. Simeon, when he quotes, " And
it was evening and it was morning
one day," and says, " Hence it is
proved, that the order of time was
primary." (Talmud, ibid.) His
meaning is neither the Aristotelian,
that the heavenly bodies are eternal,
nor that the inconceivable duration
which preceded [creation is to be
considered as divided by periodical
order ; but that, according to the
plain and obvious meaning of Holy
Writ, no order of time could exist
before the fourth day, till which the
heavenly luminaries were uncreated.
The Rabbi intends to defend the
apparent inconsistency, and therefore
says, that with the first day the orb-
ital movement commenced ; and
that, in consequence of this move-
ment, the division and order of time
called " night and day " arose ; but
that the various movements of the
heavenly bodies " serve to fix signs,
seasons, days, and years." (Gen. i
14 ) It accordingly becomes deter-
mined by the opinion of R. Jehuda
the son of R. Simeon, that time de-
termined by the orbital movements
is called " the order of time " — but
that this appellation does not extend
to the uninterrupted duration of
time, to which no sooner, later, or
coeval can be applied. But if that
which we call "time" is not the
inconceivable duration, but is simply
the order of periodical division de-
termined by the movements of the
heavenly bodies, in that case the ex-

153

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

pressions nilp and DTlVJ, priority
and eternity are limited to the time
which preceded creation, and the
consequent division of time is deter-
mined by the movements of the hea-
venly bodies. And though the
words pmp first, and Tim eternal,
appear different, yet their real mean-
ing is actually the same; namely,
that the Holy One (blessed be He !)
exists immutably before the com-
mencement of time, and after its
termination : And in order to con-
dense the spirit of these two words,
we say, He is independent of time.
We do not decide the difference of
opinion between our Rabbles and
Aristotle : According to the first of
whom there was an inconceivable
duration of time previous to the cre-
ation, from which our order of time
is derived; whereas, according to
the latter, (Aristotle,) there is no
time independent of periodical divi-
sion ; (His sequitur or conclusion,
that consequently the heavenly bo-
dies are eternal, we altogether reject;)
as in either case the Deity still re-
mains unalterably independent of

time. And when the Sacred Scrip-
tures pronounce the Deity to be " the
first," they immediately add that he
is " the last," in order to combine
the two words priority and eternity,
and declare his perfect independence
of time : As the prophet says, " Thus
saith the Lord the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts,
I am the first, and I am the last, and
beside me there is no God ; " (Isaiah
xliv. 6 ;) which denotes that amongst
all beings in existence there is none
to whom theVords First znALast can
be applied, save and except to the
Lord alone : as the commencement
of all other beings has either been
preceded by time, or their duration
is exceeded by time. Their exist-
ence is therefore merely possible,
not absolute : whereas His, which is
independent of time, must be inhe-
rent, absolute, and unconditional.
Therefore the prophet further saith,
"There is no God beside me ; " there
is none other whose existence com-
bines these three essentials, bymeans
of which alone he could be the first
and the last. (To be continued.)

V. MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

oty Schmonah Perakim Lerambam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MslIMONIDES.
(Continued from page 144.)

CHAPTER IV.

IT is a fact well known, that even
the father of the pious, as well of
former ages as of latter days, even
Moses our teacher of blessed memo-
ry, incurred the Divine reproof:
" Because ye did not put your trust
in me, to sanctify me before the eyes
of the children of Israel, but diso-
beyed my command at the waters of
Meribah, where you failed to hallow
me."(Num. xxi. 12,24.) His fault con-
sisted in the sudden deviation from
the virtuous perfection of meek for-
bearance, to the opposite extreme of
overbearing wrath, which led him to
utter the scornful reproach, "Hear
now, ye rebels ! shall WE produce
water for you out of this rock?"
(Num. xxi. 10.) This departure from
the path of perfect virtue, which in
him was that of moderation, justly
merited the Divine reproof ; as wrath

and scorn from a man like Moses,
and directed against an entire com-
munity, was not only unbecoming
and wrong in itself, but doubly re-
prehensible, inasmuch as the Deity,
whose Spirit was known to rest on
Moses, thereby became, as it were,
desecrated. The words and the con-
duct of Moses served for an example
which all men strove to imitate, be-
cause they hoped, by following that
example, to attain eternal as well as
temporal happiness. But when he
evinced so pernicious a quality as
wrath, which can only result from
moral imperfection, he destroyed the
salutary influence his example had
hitherto exercised. The words of
the reproof, " Ye disobeyed my com-
mand," are to be explained as fol-
lows : Moses was not speaking to a
silly, unreflecting mob, but to an as-
sembly of men and women, each of

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

159

whom was gifted with the power of
reasoning and penetration in a most
eminent degree, or, as the Talmudists
express it, " the least of whom rank-
ed with Ezekiel the son of Busi."
His words and actions, therefore,
were submitted to the test of deep
thought and keen penetration ; and
when it was seen that he suddenly
departed from his usual forbearance,
and waxed wroth, the inference was,
not that he had yielded to an immoral
aptitude, but that he must have
known the Deity was greatly offended
and wroth at the request for water ;
whereas such was not actually the
case : But, on the contrary, the
Divine command to supply them with
water did not express any reproof,
but only said, " Take the staff, and
assemble the community."

In entering into this exposition,
we own that we have digressed from
the professed purpose of our treatise :
But, in so doing, we trust we have
satisfactorily solved the questions
raised respecting a most difficult pas-
sage in Holy Writ, which has caused
manifold opinions and interpreta-
tions, in order to ascertain what in
reality was the sin which Moses com-
mitted on this occasion. Let other
opinions be compared with the one
we have now adduced, and the truth
is sure to prevail.

We now retrace our steps to the
point from which we digressed, and
proceed to say, that if man always
takes care to balance his actions with
just discrimination, and devotes his
constant attention to the observance
of due moderation, he will attain
the highest degree of perfection of
which human nature is capable,
namely, the approximation towards
a communion with God and true
felicity. This is truly the perfect
degree of Divine adoration to which
our Rabbles of blessed memory di-
rected our minds when they said and
wrote, " He who carefully observes
his own conduct, and is constantly
on his guard, becomes dignified by
seeing the Divine salvation ; as it is
said in Holy Writ, ' To him who
carefully observes his path, will I
shew divine salvation.' (Psalm 1. 23.)"
This observing of his path which the
Sacred Singer recommends, is that
due and considerate moderation to

the enjoining of which we have de-
voted the present chapter, contain-
ing all that we deem it needful to
say on the subject.

CHAPTER v.

HOW TO APPLY ALL THE FACULTIES
OF THE SOUL TOWARDS THE ATTAIN-
ING OF ONE OBJECT.

ACCORDING to the doctrine laid
down in the preceding chapter, it is
the duty of man to render all the
faculties of his soul subordinate to
his reason. He must constantly
keep one object present to his mind's
eye ; and that is, to attain the con-
templating of the Divine Being and
perfection, as far as they can be com-
prehended by mortal man. All his
undertakings, his deeds, his thoughts,
nay, his very words, must be calcu-
lated to promote that great aim, until
they become purified from every fri-
volous alloy, that is to say, from every
tendency to retard or not promote
that aim. In every corporeal enjoy-
ment, eating, drinking, or the joys
of love, whether waking or sleeping,
active or at rest, his first intention
must be to preserve bodily health.
This he does in order that the or-
gans and instruments of the soul (the
corporeal parts) may be in a ' proper
condition to acquire wisdom, and to
arrive at moral and mental perfec-
tion, as the sole means of attaining
the great object of his endeavours.
Accordingly, in all bodily enjoy-
ments, his attention must not be di-
rected to the agreeable, but to the
useful. Though he need not timidly
avoid or fly from the agreeable, he is
certainly not to make it a serious
object of pursuit. There are, however,
cases when the agreeable becomes
necessary as a medicine. Thus, for
instance, he who suffers from loss of
appetite may indulge in those spices
and high seasonings by means of
which food is rendered more palata-
ble to man. He who is labouring
under an attack of melancholy may
have recourse to the melodious har-
mony of vocal and instrumental
music, or may visit fine gardens and
splendid buildings, or mix in cheer-
ful society, as means of diverting his
melancholy moods. But in all such
cases the intention is to restore the
healthful state of the body, in order

160

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

to be in a proper condition to acquire
wisdom. In the pursuit of gain and
the acquisition of wealth, his inten-
tion must likewise be, to employ
that wealth to salutary purposes,
properly to supply the wants of na-
ture. All this he does in order that
he may preserve his existence until
he may attain to that degree of con-
templating and comprehending the
Divine Essence which is vouchsafed
unto man. As bodily health is thus
important, — as a means of acquiring
wisdom, attaining mental and moral
perfection, and thereby gaining that
true felicity which results from the
contemplation of the Deity, — the
study of the medical science stands
pre-eminent before others, and must
not be ranked in the same class with
the science of architecture, or the
mechanical art of weaving. That
science teaches us moderation, and
how to purify our natural inclina-
tions, and raise them into means for
attaining true perfection.

The man who indulges in high-
seasoned food merely because its fla-
vour is pleasing to his palate, and its
odour delightful to his olfactory
nerves, — although such indulgence
may be pernicious to him, may lead
to serious illness, or even to sudden
death, — that man ought to rank in

the same class with the beasts of the
field, as his conduct is not that of
man as a reasonable being, but as a
mere animal, resembling the brutish
herds. The reasonable man avoids
what is pernicious, is content with
the useful, and varies the agreeable
with that which is less pleasant, as
the occasion requires. Thus his
conduct is in accordance with the
dictates of moderation, and the com-
mands of reason, by which alone
man is distinguished above all other
animals. Nor are these our observa-
tions confined to food alone ; but
they extend to all other appetites
which man has in common with
brutes, and the inordinate indulgence
of which betokens the animal, not
the reasonable, man. It is, how-
ever, possible that man may arrange
his conduct entirely by the rules of
utility, without any aim beyond that
of preserving his bodily health. Such
an one does not deserve the appella-
tion of " virtuous." He only strives
after the complacency which results
from corporeal welbeing : ;Another
strives after the enjoyments which
the gratification of his appetite af-
fords: But both equally neglect that
which is the only true aim worthy of
man's attention.

(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

"ASSUMING that philological inquiries, like all others which tend to
the elucidation of the Holy Scriptures, are directly within the scope of
your work, I do not hesitate to ask you to give publicity to the following
question, which I shall be glad to have answered either by yourself or by
some of your readers.

"What appears tobe the mostcorrect translation of the words DMi"!! V2i
n 1 Samuel xix. 13 ?

"In the Septuagint version they are rendered i?T«p T&V tdyuvt ' the liver of
goals;' and Josephus (Antiq. lib. 6, c. ll,f. 4) follows this translation,
and describes the leaping or palpitation of the goats' livers, hidden by Michal
in the place of her husband David, as having caused the bed-clothes to
move, so as to represent the breathing of an asthmatic person. The later
versions of the Scriptures are, however, directly opposed to such an inter-
pretation, and understand the words to mean a coverlid or other article
made of goats' hair.

November llth, 1834. B. E.

Want of space has prevented us from giving more early publicity to this
letter. Nor can we now do more than request the attention of our readers
to its contents. We will endeavour to satisfy the enquiries of our erudite
correspondent B. E., if we do not receive an adequate reply from any of the
learned.

LONDON :— i»rin(.ed by James Nichols, 46, Mox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. i.

TENTH DAY OF K1SLEV, 5595.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1834.

No. 11.

I. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

M^O rP12: THE COVENANT OF CIRCUMCISION.

(Concluded from page 116.)

No man that lived at a period of
antiquity so extremely remote as
that of Abraham, can boast of an
historical fame more justly founded,
or more fully borne out by evidence,
than this father of the circumcision.
Not only do the Jews, who are de-
scended from Isaac his second son,
preserve a minute and detailed ac-
count of the principal events of his
life, and of his constancy and faith ;
and observe the rite of circumcision
in precisely the same manner and at
exactly the same age as he perform-
ed it on their progenitor Isaac ; but
the Arabs likewise, who claim de-
scent from Ishmael the elder son
of Abraham, observe the same rite
at the precise period of life when it
•was performed on their progenitor
Ishmael, namely, at the age of thir-
teen years. (Genesis xvii. 25.) And
though want of written records, and
the uncertainty of tradition, amongst
nomadic tribes, constantly at war
with each other, caused the Arabic
version of Abraham's history to be
so greatly distorted, that very few
traces of its true details remain ;
yet the two leading facts of that
history were never lost sight of.
And when Mahomet subsequently
began to introduce his doctrines
amongst his countrymen, he found
these two facts, — namely, that Abra-
ham was a man approved by the
Deity, who vouchsafed to commune
with him, and that he had, by Di-
vine command, established the rite
of circumcision, — so firmly estab-
lished and accredited among them,
(the more firmly, perhaps, because
it was all that yet remained to them
of the patriarchal legacy,) that even

Mahomet thought it best to found
his own pretensions, and to graft
his doctrines, on these generally
adopted facts. Here, then, we have
external evidence, (if such were
wanting,) that the man Abraham
did, in conformity to the Divine
command, institute the covenant of
circumcision, within the pale of
which he brought his two sons,
Isaac at the age of eight days, and
Ishmael at that of thirteen years.
It was, however, not this last who
was destined by Divine Providence
to be the inheritor of the blessing
bestowed on, and the covenant
formed with, Abraham : " For in
Isaac shall seed be called unto
thee." (Gen. xxi. 12.) And according-
ly though the descendants of Ishmael
have preserved the fact, that their
progenitor was circumcised at the
age of thirteen years, yet they have
forgotten and neglected one equally
important, that the same Divine
command which directs the institu-
tion of that covenant, likewise com-
mands, under a dire penalty, that it
should be enforced at the early age
of eight days. Consequently this
departure from the precise terms of
the Divine command is a violation
of the covenant, which with them
degenerates into a self-instituted
ceremony. Such is not the case
with its observance by the Jews.
Their progenitor Isaac, born subse-
quent to the Divine command, was
introduced into the covenant on the
eighth day of his birth, according to
the especial direction and condition
of that command. Such also has
been the practice of his descendants,
until the present day. And whilst

162

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

the rite of circumcision amongst the
Ishmaelites at the age of thirteen
attests the fact, that they did not
borrow the ceremony from the Jews,
(in which case they too would sub-
mit their children to it on the eighth
day,) but practise it as handed
down to them in the example of Ish-
mael ; the observance of the same rite
among the Jews attests the fact,
that Abraham did circumcise his
son Isaac at the age of eight days ;
that he did so, in conformity to a
Divine command previously given ;
and that, consequently, the same
observance, at the same age, which
has (we may say uninterruptedly)
been observed by the descendants
of Isaac, the Jews, is the sign or
token of the covenant into which
the Deity vouchsafed to enter with
their great ancestor Abraham, to
whom He deigned to declare, " It is
an everlasting covenant that I am
God unto thee and to thy seed after
thee." (Genesis xvii. 7.) And when
we find, that, notwithstanding the in-
struction of Abraham — to whom
Deity himself gives the testimony,
"that he will command his sons
and his household afttr him, that
they shall observe the path of the
Lord and do what is right and just,"
(Genesis xviii. 19,) — the descendants
of Ishmael, although they still kept
up the ceremony of circumcision,
entirely lost all trace of that sublime
instruction and of the true God ;
and fell into gross idolatry, from
which they have only been reclaimed
by the forcible introduction of a
system of faith bearing within itself
the proof positive, that it is the off-
spring of human invention. When
we see this in the Ishmaelites, whilst
on the other hand we find that the
descendants of Isaac, the Jews,
have, amidst all the vicissitudes of
their unexampled history, still ad-
hered to the instruction of Abraham
and the knowledge of the one true
God ; that though, seduced by the
evil example of their neighbours,
and their own passions, they did
from time to time rebel against the
Lord their God, and did commit the
heinous sin of idolatry, yet their
aberrations never were of long dura-
tion, nor so general that the know-
ledge of the true God became en-

tirely lost to them. This is proved by
Holy Writ, when, in the midst of
the most gross and profound na-
tional corruption, the complaint of
the prophet, "The children of Israel
have departed from thy covenant,"
is answered with, " I leave in Israel
seven thousand ; all the knees that
have not bent to Baal, each mouth
that has not adored him." (1 Kings
xix. 18.) When we thus consider,
that, notwithstanding temptations of
all kinds, manifold errors and de-
partures from "the path of the
Lord," yet the Jews always returned
repenting, and continued to adhere
to the precepts which Abraham had
commanded to his sons and to his
household after him ; — when we
consider this, who shall presume to
gainsay the truth of Holy Writ, or to
assert that the Divine prediction,
" That in Isaac (alone) shall seed
be called unto thee," is not literally
fulfilled in them? And when, more-
over, we consider, that, after a lapse
of thirty-five centuries, the same ob-
servance which Abraham instituted,
the same indelible seal which he
imprinted on his sons, is still in
force, is still practised by Israelites,
at precisely the same time and with
precisely the same intention, as it
was by him, namely, on the eighth
day after the birth of every male
child, and, in order to introduce that
child into the covenant of his God ;
— when this is taken into considera-
tion, who shall presume to assert,
that the prediction, " I will erect my
covenant between me and thee, and
thy seed after thee to their genera-
tions, as an everlasting covenant,"
(Genesis xvii. 7,) is not also fulfilled
to the letter ? Who will deny that
as its truth has stood the test of
thirty- five centuries, so will it, in
those who emphatically are called
" thy seed," continue to be verified
as an everlasting covenant, even
unto the end of time ? And when
we find, that predictions made at a
time so remote that no trace or ves-
tige of its history remains, except
what is preserved in the sacred
records of the Jews, — that these
predictions are accomplished in the
mott perfect and literal manner ;
that enactments, the perpetuity of
which no human foresight could de-

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

163

cide, no human legislation enforce,
are obeyed not by a few, but by an
entire nation ; not in one place only,
but in every clime throughout the
earth ; and that all this is so because
it is predicted it should be ; — who
will presume to controvert or im-
pugn the authority of the records in
which these wonderful predictions
are contained ? who is there so arro-
gant but that, with the humbled
Nebuchadnezzar, he will own that
" honour and praise appertain to

the King of the heavens, whose
works are true and whose paths are
righteous." In this sense we say,
the covenant of the circumcision is an
r'S, or " sign," to all the nations
of the earth, who, by it and from
it, learn the truth of Divine Revela-
tion, " that they may know from the
east where the sun rises unto the
west where the sun sets, that there
is none beside Him, that He is
the Lord, and that there is none
other."

II. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. III.

(Continued from page 154J

PREFACE TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE,
BY MAIMONIDES.

ZERALM."

THESE five classes are as follow : —

1. Those expositions transmitted
from the lips of Moses, the analogy
of which is found in Scripture and
can be deduced by means of logical
reasoning. These are not subject
to any diversity of opinion. And
when any one of the Rabbies asserts,
" This I have received by tradition,"
he is never contradicted.

2. Decisions which are each called
" halachah of Moses from Sinai,"
and which bear no reference to other
passages of the law, as we have
already fully explained. Respect-
ing these, likewise, no difference of
opinion was ever entertained.

3. Decisions established by means
of logical deductions, and respect-
ing which different opinions did
prevail ; (as we have already stat-
ed;) but the majority decided. On
such an occasion we find in the Tal-
mud, (treatise Jabamoth, folio 76,)
the following expression, " If it is a
decision already established, and
transmitted to us, we are bound to
adopt it ; but if this matter is not
yet finally decided, many objections
maybe urged." Accordingly, what-
ever difference of opinion prevailed
was confined to such subjects only
respecting which tradition had not
preserved any settled decision ; thus
we always find, that due care is
taken in the Talmud to examine
and preserve the various reasonings

on and by which the different opi-
nions entertained on different sub-
jects were formed and supported.
Accordingly it is asked, — ( 1 . ) " What
is the subject of dispute ?" (2.) Or,
"What has led to the opinion of
such a Rabbi?" and, (3.) "What
is the real difference resulting from
their diversity of opinion ?" And ge-
nerally these questions are very fully
answered, and it is minutely shown
what is the subject in dispute, what
is the cause which has induced any
one of the contending Rabbies to
take up the peculiar view he sup-
ports, and what is the real difference
resulting from their diversity of opi-
nions. Should any one, however, be
of opinion, that the difference between
them is respecting tbe precise tra-
dition, and that one or other must be
wrong or mistaken in the tradition,
which has been either incorrectly
transmitted to him or imperfectly
learned, or which he has either forgot-
ten or misunderstood ; and should he
support that opinion by quoting from
the Talmud, (treatise Sanhfdrin, fo-
lio 88,) " Since the number increased
of Hillel's and Shammai's disciples
who had not completed their studies,
disputes have arisen in Israel until the
law appears as two different laws ; "
whosoever entertains that opinion,
and avails himself of this quotation
in support of it, is greatly mistaken,
and merits unqualified blame ; as he
2

164

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WUITER3.

must be utterly devoid of sense and
of a due regard for truth, and mis-
led by the superficial and limited
insight he has obtained into the
writings and meaning of our Rab-
bies. As for the traditions received
from Moses, their precise nature
and meaning never became subjects
of dispute or variety of opinion. It
was only in such subjects which tra-
dition had not settled, and which
were to be decided by means of
reasoning and logical deduction,
that the difference in human powers
of reasoning produced a variety of
views and opinions.

Such are the disputes between the
schools of Shammai and Hillel :
Not that they in any case differed in
opinion respecting any tradition ;
but, in cases where the decision was
to be formed by themselves and on
the strength of logical deductions,
they entertained different views.
The quotation which we gave from
the Talmud, (Sanhedrin, folio 88,)
respecting the disciples of Shammai,
who had not completed their studies
and caused manifold disputes in
Israel, may be explained when we
say : Two men possessing equal
talents and powers of reasoning and
of perception, and the same perfect
acquaintance with the principles of
the subject that occupies their atten-
tion, are not likely generally to dif-
fer in opinion ; and subjects of dis-
pute between them cannot be fre-
quent. Accordingly we find that
Hillel and Shammai seldom differ,
because the equality of their talents
and knowledge led them, in most
cases, to adopt the same views ;
whereas their disciples, — whose
numbers were great, and whose re-
spective powers of reasoning, ta-
lents, and knowledge varied, —
could not approximate, as their
teachers had done, whenever any
subject was to be decided by means
of logical deduction ; and the inevi-
table consequences were, difference
of opinion, and frequent disputes.
But whosoever accuses them, when
they advance opinions diametrically
opposite, that either the one party
or the other asserted what was con-
trary to the word of God, commits
an act of great injustice ; inasmuch
as their disputes never extended to

the traditions derived from Moses
and Sinai, but only to such subjects
as, according to the revealed will of
God, were left to the decisions of
human reasoning in conformity to
the command, " Thou shall come
before the priests the Levites, and
the judge who shall be in those
days." (Deut. xvii. 9.) And as the
decision was thus left to them,
they did no more than their duty
when every one advanced that opinion
which, according to the best of his
judgment, appeared correct ; nor do
we ever find that their differences
interfered with the traditions re-
ceived; or that any one of them
supported his reasoning by the au-
thority of a tradition which his oppo-
nents refused to acknowledge. This
explanation every one who is inti-
mately acquainted with their writ-
ings must approve as correct; whilst
at the same time it is most import-
ant and precious to every observer
of the law and of its principles.

4. Those ordinances which the
prophets and sages of every respec-
tive age enacted as a ITllftb ; JSD, " a
fence or circumvallation to the law,"
were appointed in order that the es-
sentials of the law should not be
violated. But these enactments
were not the offspring of arbitrary
decisions or absolute will, but were
called forth according to the neces-
sities of the tunes, and in accord-
ance with the Divine command :

wnttfo m tuniDtyi, " Ye shall

guard my observances ; " (Leviticus
xviii. 30 ;) which tradition explains
by saying, " Ye must set a watch
over TflOt^D, my guardianship or
observances." * Whatever was en-
acted for this purpose, our sages call
nTiU " ordinances." These some-
times became subjects of disputation
as one sage might deem it needful
to enact that of which another sage
did not see the necessity or approve;
as we frequently find that such a
Rabbi proposed a certain ordinance,
and stated his reasons for so doing;
which, however, were not approved

* Hebraists will perceive that the verb
DiTTO'SI " Ye shall guard," and the sub-
stantive 'rilQTUD, which we render " my
observance," are both derived from the ra-
dix 1OU? « to watch or guard." — EDITOR.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OP RABBINICAL "WRITERS.

165

of by another Rabbi, who therefore
declined giving force to the ordi-
nance. As an instance we mention :
Dressing or cooking the flesh of
tircls in milk is not forbidden in
the law, which merely prohibits the
flesh of beasts and of game to be
cooked in milk. The Rabbies, in
order to prevent any possible or ac-
cidental infringement of the law, in-
cluded the flesh of birds in the pro-
hibition. But all the Rabbies did
not agree to this extension : Some
of them permitted the eating of
birds dressed in milk ; as, for in-
stance, R. Jose, who, with the inha-
bitants of his city, continued to eat
the flesh of birds so dressed, as is
detailed in the Talmud, treatise
Sabbath, folio 130. But whenever
such an ordinance is generally
adopted, it is no longer lawful to
resist or refuse obedience thereto :
So that even a prophet would not
presume to gainsay or invalidate an
ordinance generally adopted by all
Israel ; as it is said in the Talmud :
"Even Elijah himself would not pre-
sume to gainsay or recall any one of
the eighteen ordinances agreed upon
by Shammai and Hillel, because
these ordinances have been univer-
sally adopted by all Israel."

5. Those decisions which rest on
logical reasoning, and received con-
ventions respecting the laws of pro-
perty, are by no means to be consi-
dered as adding to or taking from
the laws of Moses. In the same
class are to be comprised those
~ ;~;.' r~:~r, " regulations and
customs " laid down and adopted for
the general good of the common-
weal. The spirit of our religion pro-
hibits us from violating any of these
ordinances and enactments ; as king
Solomon says, " He that breaks
down a fence will be bitten by a ser-
pent." (Eccl. x. 8.) Such ordinances
and enactments are manifold, and are
all enumerated in the Mishna and in
the Gemarah. Many of them are de-
rived from Moses himself; many,
from the later prophets. Some are or-
dained by one sage only ; others, by
numerous sages. (Vide Talmud, trea-
tise Megilah, folio 4 ; Berochotfi, fo-
lio 43 ; Bs:a, folio 5 ; Gi«in, folio
34 ; Kethuboth, folio 49J

Accordingly the laws enumerated

in the Mishna all come under one of
these five classes : namely, Some of
them are expositions of the law
handed down by uninterrupted tra-
dition from the days of Moses, and
either bear a reference to the words
of the written law, or can be logi-
cally deduced therefrom. Others
are halachoth of Moses from Sinai.
Others are founded on reasoning
and logical deductions, and have
been subject to various opinions.
Others are ordinances for the better
observance of the law : And, lastly,
some are enactments, regulations,
and .customs for the 'protection of
property, and the general good of
the commonweal. Wherever dif-
ference of opinion prevailed at the
time of their enactment, such dif-
ference is stated, together with the
causes that led thereto, and the va-
rious reasonings adduced in support
of the respective opinions. The
reason why all the arguments used
and the opinions adduced on each
occasion are thus minutely detailed,
in preference to briefly setting forth
the decision without any mention of
the causes that led to its adoption, is
most wise and salutary : For had
the fullest light not been thrown on
the arguments upon which every de-
cision is founded, it is possible that
some one, — who might hear that a
certain Rabbi had upheld the exten-
sion of any particular prohibition
which to this hearer appears just
and proper, would in consequence be
induced to adopt^that opinion, and act
conformably, and thus cause others,
who might depend upon his well-
known and scrupulous exactness in
observing the law, to follow his ex-
ample, or to call in question the per-
mission accorded by the Mishna ;
the result of which would be dis-
putes, wrangling, and sectarianism.
To prevent this, we are put in pos-
session of every argument used : So
that, should any one adhere to the
opinion of any particular Rabbi,
which at the time was overruled, we
know what that opinion was, and by
what reasoning it was supported ;
and can answer him who scrupu-
lously wishes to extend a prohibition :
" It is true the opinion you maintain
was at the time advanced by such a
Rabbi ; but he was overruled by others

168

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE JtABBIES.

whose opinions rested on such par-
ticular reasoning, and whose decision
has been generally adopted." The
reason why a solitary opinion, ad-
vanced in opposition to those of
many, is recorded, likewise has a
useful and salutary purpose ; show-
ing the deference and attention af-
forded to each individual, and also
that, when the solitary opinion
proved to be best-supported by rea-
soning and logical deduction, the
decision did not perversely insist on
numerical superiority ; but, yielding
to the voice of [truth and of convic-
tion, adopted the solitary opinion
in preference to that of the many.

Again : When we are told, that
such a Rabbi at any particular time
entertained a certain opinion, which
subsequently he renounced, and
adopted that of another ; as it is re-
corded in the Talmud, the School
of Shammai maintained a certain
opinion, which the school of Hillel
opposed ; but, in the course of ar-
gument, the latter gave up their own
opinion and embraced that of their
opponents: When this is recorded,
it is to acquaint us with their love of

truth, and the force of justice and
of faith, as examples fit for our imi-
tation. When we see that these ho-
nourable, pious, and meek men, per-
fect in wisdom and great in talent,
did not hesitate, although they had
advanced their opinion, to yield to
the conviction produced by the more
powerful reasoning of their oppo-
nents, and were not ashamed pub-
licly to own that they had been hi
the wrong ; it is our duty likewise
to yield to the force of truth and
conviction, and not obstinately and
perversely to maintain an opinion
which we have once advanced, when
we become convinced of its incor-
rectness ; as it is written, " Justice,
justice shall be thy pursuit." ,(E)eut.
xvi. 20.) And accordingly our Rab-
bies say, (treatise Aboth, chapter v,)
" Acknowledge the truth." Their
meaning is : " Although thou mayest
be able by the aid of dialectics to de-
fend thy opinion, and even to mis-
lead others into siding with thee ;
yet if thou art convinced that thy
opinion is incorrect, yield to thy
opponent and confess the truth."

(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim .- " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES : " BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 154.)

CHAPTER XIX.

THE proofs which we have thus
furnished of the fact that the Deity
is independent of time, likewise de-
monstrate that all the qualities which
are attributed to him, be they nega-
tive or positive, must, like himself,
be eternal and infinite ; as it is im-
possible there should be in him any
quality or attribute which he did not
always possess, but which arose
within him at any time : As, in that
case, He*(blessed be HE !) would be
a composite of that which is primary
and that which is subsequent ; con-
sequently he would not be eternally
immutable. It is equally impossible
that he should at any time be differ-
ent from what lie always is, so as
either to acquire or to cease possess-
ing any quality or attribute whatever :
As, in that case, he would become

liable to change or variation; and
every variation presupposes some re-
volution and transition from germ
into developement, which is caused
by the progression of time and its
advance unto the period when this
transition is to be effected. Ac-
cordingly, were such variation pos-
sible in him, he would be dependent
on time ; and as there would thus
be in him a something which
was not previously, and consequent-
ly had a commencement, he would
no longer be Absolute Infinity. It is
therefore proved beyond all doubt,
that he is not subject to any muta-
tion or alteration whatsoever; and
that, in this respect likewise, he is
distinguished from all other beings,
as every thing external to him is sub-
ject to the mutation caused by the
progress of time. For even the se-

METAPHTSICS AXD PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABB1ES.

167

parate intelligences — although not
composed of opposite materials,
(which alone form the cause of all
mutation,) and consequently not ex-
posed to any alteration — are never-
theless subject to the change wrought
by the advance of time ; inasmuch
as even the first of created intelli-
gences, as a necessary consequence
of his being created, was in the days
of Abraham aged two thousand years,
and in our days his age is advanced
by some three thousand years more.
In like manner whatever exists has
at present attained a period of dura-
tion more advanced than it had in
the days of David ; consequently
whatever is created is subject to the
progress of time. Whereas the Holy
One (blessed be HE 1) is eternally
immutable. Nor can i^besaid of
him, that his duration is at present
more advanced than in the days of
David or at the time of the creation ;
as his duration is immutably eternal
without beginning as without end,
previous to the creation of the world
and subsequent to its dissolution.
Consequently the Deity never ad-
vances in age ; whereas every being
external to him, — even those of whom
it cannot be said that they are alter-
ed or impaired by age, — keeps pace
in its duration with the advance of
time, and does therefore grow older.
Accordingly no^ being, save the Holy
One, (blessed be HE !) can say of
himself, "I am I ; " or, " I am
eternally immutable : " As it is
written, " Behold now that I am I,
and there is no God with me."
(Deut. xxxii. 39.) And the Prophet
saith, " J even I am the Lord, and
beside me there is no Saviour:"
(Isaiahxliii.il:) Namely, " I alone
am immutably eternal, and there is
no other being which is so ; and
therefore there is neither God nor
Saviour beside me."

CHAPTER xx

THE first or obvious meaning of
the word, ?r, "all," or "entire,"
implies the generality or total of any
subject ; as we find, " All beings
were created by God for his own
sake ; " (Prov. xvi. 4 ;) and also,
" God saw all that he had made, and
behold it was exceedingly good : "

(Gen. i. 31 :) Namely, that in the
generality of beings the good predo-
minates. It further implies each in-
dividual of a totality, as, "All the
souls which proceeded from the
loins of Jacob were seventy souls ; "
(Exodus! i. 5 ;) where it applies to
each individual composing the num-
ber of seventy. Again : " Abraham
took Ishmael his son, and all those
born in his house, and all those pur-
chased with his money, all the males
in Abraham's household ;' (Gen. xvii.
23;) where, likewise, the word ALL.
applies to each individual composing
those born in his house and bought
by his wealth, forming together the
totality of the males in his household.
On other occasions the word "all"
implies the major part ; as, for
instance, " That I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my
life." (Psalm xxiii. 6.) Again :
" All the community arose." (Num.
xiv. 1.) Again: " All the commu-
nity exclaimed, 'Stone them to
death;'" (Num. xiv. 10;) where
the meaning is, not every individual
member of the community, or every
identical day of the Psalmist's life-
time; but the greater part, the majority.
In this sense we find the word used
on many other occasions. Sometimes
the word "all" implies a consider-
able proportion of the whole, though
such proportion be not the major
part, as, " The wrath of the Lord is
against all nations, and his anger
against all their hosts ; " (Isaiah
xxxiv. 2 ;) which, however, only ap-
plies to several nations, not to aU,
nor yet to the greater number of
them ; which is proved further on in
his prophecy : " There is a sacrifice
unto the Lord in Bozrah, and a
great slaughter in the land of Edom."
(Isaiah xxxiv. 6.) Respecting that
country the Prophet says, further on,
" It shall lie waste during endless
generations, and everlastingly no
traveller shall pass through." (Isaiah
xxxiv. 10.) Thus it is likewise said,
" All the land shall lie waste ;" (Jer.
iv. 26 ;) although this denunciation
is limited to Jerusalem only. Again :
"In the^ fire of his wrath shall the
whole earth be consumed ; for he
will make a sudden end of all its
inhabitants ; " (Zeph. i. 18 ;) which,
however, only applies to the land of

168

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Israel and its inhabitants. Some-
times the word " all "is applied to a
small portion instead of the whole :
As, for instance, "And from -all the
lands they came to iVIizraim, to pur-
chase of Joseph;" (Gen. xli. 57 ;)
the meaning of which is only, that
some out of the countries bordering
on Mizraim came there to purchase
corn : As the words, " There was
famine in all countries," (Ibid.) only
applies to the neighbouring countries.
Thus likewise : " All the earth visit-
ed the presence of Solomon ; "
(I Kings x. 25 ;) by which is meant
some few persons from different
parts of the earth. Again : " All
nations shall serve him ; " (Psalm
Ixxii. 11 ;) which is said to Solomon,
and means that some nations are to
be subject to his dominion. This
last application of the word ALL it
behoves us to use to explain the
words of the Psalmist, " That I may
relate all thy praise;" (Psalm ix.
14 ;) which means, not that it is by
any means possible for man to 'relate
all the praise of God, but that he
may narrate some part of the count-
less praises due unto the Lord. It
is the peculiar style of Holy Writ to
omit thettflDtyri "O the preposition,
OF, or FROM ; as, for instance : " Thy
throne, O God, is everlasting;"
(Psalm xlv. 7 ;) where the meaning
is, " Thy " (David's or the Messiah's)
throne from God is everlasting," be-
cause " the sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
(Ibid.) Again: "All the wealth of
his master with [him ; " (Gen. xxiv.
10;) where the meaning is " of all
the wealth," &c. Again : "He took
in his hand a present, all the wealth of
Damascus ; " (2 Kings viii. 9 ;) where
the meaning likewise is, " of the
wealth," &c. Again : " He slew
all the males in Edom ; for six
months did Joab and all Israel re-
main there until all the males in
Edom were cutoff;" (1 Kings xi.
15, 16 ;) though subsequently, in the
days of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
we meet with a King of Edom.
(2 Kings iii. 9-) These instances will
show the importance of our defini-
tion of the word b$, " all," or " en-
tire," and its great usefulness in as-
sisting us properly to understand the
language of Holy Writ, particularly

that of prophecies, both as regards
the past and the future.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE result of our preceding re-
searches convinces us, that it is un-
avoidably necessary to attribute to
the Deity manifold qualities, not only
on account of the effects produced
by him, and those other proofs which
we have already demonstrated in the
eighth chapter of this present divi-
sion, but, moreover, on account of
his own essence, blessed be HE !
All assertions, whether positive or
negative, serve to distinguish truth
from falsehood in all matters which
are either absolutely necessary, ut-
terly impossible, or merely possible.
All questions respecting the Deity
would rest on possibility : As, for
instance, Is it possible he should
be wise or unwise, potent or impo-
tent, benevolent or malevolent ? And
as it is utterly impossible to assign
to him want of wisdom, impotence,
or malevolence, because he is free
from all imperfection/, it becomes
absolutely necessary to assert that he
is wise, potent, and benevolent, mer-
ciful, righteous, true, &c. ; and each
in a degree as infinite as his own
being. Thus it becomes absolutely
necessary to attribute to him all-
perfection, as it is utterly impossible
to ascribe to him any imperfection
whatsoever ; and our doing so is the
necessary result of his essence, inde-
pendent of the effects produced by
him. The proof is : When we say,
"God liveth ;" "He is wise;" we
know it to be true, not only because
all life emanates from him, all wisdom
is bestowed by him ; but he must be
alive, as he is not dead ; he must be
wise, as in him there can be no want
of wisdom ; nor need we, in any
case, have recourse to his wondrous
works to prove that perfection which
is essentially inherent in him. And
as the qualities which constitute all-
perfection are manifold, knowledge
being distinct from power, which is
distinct from life, which again is dis-
tinct from volition, &c., &c. ; the
absolute consequence is, that in him
there must be various and manifold
attributes. But as we have in our
tenth chapter proved the impossi-

METAPHYSICS A\D PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

160

bility of ascribing to him any attri-
butes whatever, it behoves us to re-
concile this apparent contradiction,
and to solve the difficulty which it
raises. Accordingly we say, The
qualities which are attributed to him
are twofold : The first result, not only
from his existence, which is inherent,
absolute, and unconditional, but also
from his being the Producer of all
existence : Thence we infer his unity,
priority, eternity, wisdom, merciful-
ness, omnipotence, &c. ; all of which
must necessarily be in him as the
great First Cause of all being. The
second are such as we attribute to
him on the supposition, that those
qualities which are considered as
perfection in man must likewise ap-
pertain to the Deity: As, for instance,
wealth, which we ascribe to him, be-
cause the want of it would be an im-
perfection ; likewise the faculties of
hearing or seeing : Although we
enjoy these only by means of material
organs, we nevertheless assign these
faculties to him, because blindness
and deafness are imperfections.
Every attribute or quality that can
be assigned to man combines within
itself a double meaning, — namely,
perfection and imperfection : As, for
instance, if we say, " Such an one is
wise," we in the first place express
the perfection of the man, that he
has acquired wisdom ; but we also
impute to him imperfection, inas-
much as he was under the necessity
of acquiring it, which acquisition
consequently is accidental, not in-
herent, and therefore causes a plu-
rality in his being. But when any
quality is attributed to the Holy
One, (blessed be HE !) it does not
combine any double meaning : As,
for instance, when we say, " He is
wise," the words do not convey the
latent intimation that he at any time
had to acquire wisdom, and it there-
fore implies perfection only, free from
any defect. In man, every perfec-
tion (wisdom, for instance) must
have its concomitant defect, inas-
much as it is the result of many suc-
cessive causes, which eventually lead
to the acquisition of wisdom ; it is
therefore a new quality to man, and
as such superadded to his being : All
of which, however, is not the case
with the Deity. In like manner,

when we attribute knowledge to the
Holy One, (blessed be HE!) we do
not thereby intend to say, that it
arises and is formed in him as it is
in us ; but that it is inherent in his
essence, as innate impressions are in
man ; the difference being such as
arises from his being infinite perfec-
tion, whereas man is finite and neces-
sarily imperfect. When we assign
to him wisdom, our intention is to
express all-perfect wisdom ; which,
however, we cannot comprehend, as
human wisdom, with all its defects,
must ever remain the standard of our
conceptions ; and therefore it is that
we cannot fully conceive or under-
stand that which we attribute to him.
Such, likewise, is our intention when
we speak of his power, his mercy,
his righteousness, and other perfec-
tions ; and hence it is that we are jus-
tified in attributing to the Deity
qualities of the second order, which
we enumerated above; and even
those which in us are generated by
material organs, such as sight, hear-
ing, or smelling, which are corporeal
faculties resulting from the senses :
As it said, " And God smelled the
agreeable odour." (Gen. viii. 21.)
But in using this expression it can-
not be the intention of Holy Writ to
impute to him corporeal sensations,
or any material admixture, and, least
of all," that he enjoyed the odour,
as man does the fragrance of any
agreeable perfume. Holy Writ uses
these words, thereby to express the
benevolent acceptance of that sacri-
fice which was offered to the Lord of
all with due humility, gratitude, and
contrition. Accordingly the Prophet
says, " I spoke not to your fathers,
and gave them no commands, on the
day when I led them forth out of
Egypt, respecting burnt offerings and
sacrifices : But this is what I com-
manded them and said, Be obedient
to my voice." (Jer. vii. 22, 23.) The
Prophet here certainly does not intend
to say, that offerings were not insti-
tuted by Divine command, but that
the intention, which alone could ren-
der any sacrifice acceptable, is con-
trition, humility, and cheerful obedi-
ence to the command of God ; and
not by any means that the Deity has
or can have any corporeal enjoyment
from sacrifices, which God forbid

iro

JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPI E.

that any one should assert. The
Psalmist likewise says, " Do I eat the
flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of
goats ? Offer gratitude unto God,
acquit thy vows towards the Most
High. Implore me in thy day of
need. I will save thee ; then shall
thou render honourunto me." (Psalrn
1. 13 — 15.) The intention here is,
likewise, to impress us with the cer-
tainty that the real purpose of sacri-
fices is to prepare and chasten the
heart, and to excite those feelings of
gratitude, love, and repentance,
which must always accompany the
true worship of God.

Hence we never assign to the
Deity taste or feeling, because these
are perfections and necessary to us,
only inasmuch as we are corporeal
and animate beings, to whom they
impart enjoyment and security. But
He (blessed be HE !) cannot stand in
need of either, as he is free from
every corporeal or material admix-
ture. Holy Writ does assign to the
Deity the faculty of hearing, and of
sight ; as, " Let thy ears hear the
voice of my supplications." (Psalm
cxxx. 5.) "The eye of the Lord is
on those that fear him." (Psalm
xxxiii. 18.) " The eyes of the Lord
glance over the whole earth." (Zech.
iv. 10.) For these, according to
common opinion, are immaterial per-
fections ; and as these only are attri-
buted to him, whilst taste and feeling
are never so assigned, it proves that
all qualities which are ascribed to
him are so ascribed as perfections
only, and without any reference or re-
lation whatsoever to their collateral de-
fects. Moreover, we say, that although
in us each quality is separate and
distinct, yet in him they are all com-
bined in one. As we acquire them
successively and not all at once, we
perceive them separately, in the same
order in which they arise within us ;
and as there was a time preceding
the acquisition, when we did not
possess them, we conceive that they

are superadded to our being. But
as in Him (blessed be HE !) all quali-
ties are essential and inherent, it
behoves us to understand, that in
him they are all combined in one,
and not acquired in any way that
may possibly engender a plurality in
his'being, which would be an imper-
fection : Whereas we have already
demonstrated, that all qualities can
be attributed to him, only inasmuch
as they are perfections, and without
any reference or relation whatever to
their concomitant imperfections ;
because He (blessed be HE I) is free
from any and every defect. Accord-
ingly we have said, that the fourth
branch of the first essential principle
(namely, " the perfection of the
Deity") must be expressed in the
words, that " the Holy One is not
subject to any imperfection, or defi-
cient in wisdom, wealth, power, and
similar attributes ;" thereby to imply
that all perfections with him combine
in one, in such a manner as to form
no addition or mutation in his es-
sence : As the Sacred Singer saith :
"O God, weariness is not in thee;
then be not silent, and rest not, O
God ! " (Psalm Ixxxii. 2.) As if he
declared, " As thy essence and per-
fection are such that thou art free
from every defect, and not subject
to weariness, want of rest, or relaxa-
tion, thou shouldest not remain silent
and tranquil at the wrongs which
evil-doers inflict on the righteous."
We likewise attribute to the Deity
qualities of the first order, which we
mentioned at the opening of this
chapter, and which it is necessary
that we should assign to him as an
absolute consequence of his being
free from every imperfection ; such
as, that he is living, potent, merciful,
&c. &c. Such is the definition of
the manner in which attributes may
be assigned to the Deity, which has
been laid down and approved by the
most glorious of our sages, and is
therefore worthy of all acceptation. _,

(To be continued.')

IV. JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE,

AS THEY WERE IN THE TIME OF THE HERODIANS.

SEPARATED from the populous
plains by sterile deserts towards the

south and west, by a chain of moun-
tains on the north and east, secluded>

JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE.

I7J

as it were, and apart from all con-
nexion with the temporal world, on
a rock in the midst of the land of
Judea, the old and sacred city of
Jerusalem raised its lofty head. The
name still fills every hearer with
veneration, and with regret that the
details of its grandeur have not been
better preserved. Notwithstanding
the numerous researches directed
towards ascertaining its topography,
the veil which time has spread over
its former glories can be but partially
removed ; so that what we now re-
late is probable rather than certain.

Jerusalem stood on several hills.
Mount Zion, on which the upper
town was erected, occupied the en-
tire south of its site. North-east
thereof lay Mount Moriah and the
temple ; north-west, on the hill
Accra, (as a part of Zion,) stood the
lower tou-ii. North of both these
the city was enlarged by the new
town, on the hill Bezetha. Between
the hills, the windings of a deep
valley were called the " vale of the
cheesemakers." The upper town
was encompassed by a high wall, on
which sixty towers were raised. The
western part, or the lower town, was
likewise surrounded by a wall with
fourteen towers, which adjoined the
first-mentioned one, and extended to
the temple. This likewise was en-
closed by several walls. The third
wall surrounded the hill Bezetha ;
but it was never completed. The
entire circumference of the city was
thirty-three stadia, or 19,800 feet,
about three and a half English miles.
Mount Zion joined the temple by
means of a stone bridge, which led
over the deep ravine that separated
the two hills. Another stone bridge
and a secret path connected the tem-
ple, on its northern side, with the
strong furtress Baris, afterwards call-
ed Antonia. This path served for
the security of the rulers. For the
nation, according to law, assembled
on the mount of the temple every
feast-day. How easily could the
bold multitude become tempted,
from the lofty ani scarcely acces-
sible site of the temple, to dictate to
its rulers, and, in case of refusal, to
compel by force a compliance with
its wishes ! The rulers, therefore,
took care to preserve a means of

access for their armed followers, in
order to awe and oppose the tumul-
tuous arrogance of the mob.

Large and splendid, the high-
enthroned temple was visible at a
great distance. Its white marble
walls — in many places inlaid with
gold — reflected the blinding rays of
the sun, and gave to the mountain,
when the solar light was obscured,
the appearance as if eternal snow
rested on its height. Mount Moriah
had at an early period been devoted
to the sacred building. There Solo-
mon erected his temple. Sorobabel
renewed it ; and Herod, whose love
of building exceeded even that of
Solomon, embellished the splendid
pile, and enlarged its extent. The
site of the temple was at first but
small ; but the increasing number of
the nation required a larger space.
Formerly the mount of the temple
stood isolated, surrounded by deep
valleys, and only connected with
Mount Zion on the south, by means
of a bridge. But in later times
these valleys lecame inhabited, and
Mount Moriah less isolated. In the
days of Herod its condition was as
follows : Four perpendicular walls
of large hewn stones separated the
mount from its environs at the equal
distance of a stadium (six hundred
feet) on each side. Within, the hol-
low space between the walls and the
rock was completely filled up with
earth. Their height from the valley
was at first three hundred feet. But
gradually, and in process of time,
mounds of earth were raised outside
the walls, which lessened their ap-
parent height, although they still
towered above those outward
mounds. One ascent in the east,
one in the north, one in the south,
and four in the west, led to the sum-
mit of the walls. This was covered
by a hall, directly adjoining which
stood a second. The respective
width of each was thirty feet. The
inner one was a piazza, formed by
double rows of equidistant pillars,
each twenty-five feet high, and cut
out of one block of white marble.
On these rested a flat roof of cedar
wood. No painting or sculpture in-
terrupted its simple but uniform
beauty. Adjoining this piazza was
an open space, or fore-court, access
•2

172

JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE.

to which was permitted to all, even
to Heathens. This court was paved
with party-coloured stones, in Mo-
saic. A flight of fourteen steps led,
on three sides of the square, to a
second open space, which, at the
width of ten feet, was bounded by a
wall twenty-five feet high. The way
to the steps was through narrow rail-
ings three feet high. Pillars, at
equal distances, bore tablets with in-
scriptions in Greek and Latin, which
cautioned every one who was impure
or who was not a Jew, against
ascending, under forfeiture of life.

The square wall which enclosed
the inmost space had on the north
and on the south, respectively, four
gates, close to each other. The
eastern side had one gate ; the west-
ern had none, as it would other-
wise not have been sufficiently pro-
tected from the city. Each gate was
formed by two folding doors, hung
on pillars, and richly inlaid with
gold and silver. The height of the
folding doors was thirty feet, their
width fifteen feet each, the height
of the portal forty feet, and within
the gates the entrance was thirty
feet wide, to correspond with the
portal. An ascent of five steps led
to the northern and southern gates.
Within, the guard-rooms of the
Priests and their adjoining refecto-
ries reached the whole length of the
walls, from gate to gate. These
rooms had but one entrance from
the inner space. In the gates were
placed benches for the Teachers of
the law, who there conversed with
each other, and instructed their dis-
ciples : Doubtless, several of the
rooms were used for the same pur-
pose. The eastern entrance led to
the court of the women, which,
according to the accounts yet extant,
must have been somewhat lower than
the rest of the court. This space, in
which females performed their devo-
tion, occupied the whole eastern side
of the square, and was thirty feet
wide : So that the first gate, on the
northern and on the southern side,
likewise led to the women's place by
means of a descent of five steps. It
was bounded by a low wall, or rather
partition, to separate the men from
the women. In this partition, ex-
actly opposite the eastern gate, stood

a splendid portal, fifty feet high, with
folding doors of Corinthian pore,
forty feet high, ornamented and in-
laid more richly than any of the
other gates : A covered flight of fif-
teen steps, — but not higher than the
five steps which led to the other
gates, — formed its ascent. This
gate, like the three remaining ones
on the northern and the southern
sides respectively, led into the space
of the men called " the Court of the
Jews." The whole square, including
the place of the women, was sur-
rounded by a piazza, or hall of pil-
lars, similar to that of the outer
court. The Court of the Jews was
bounded by a stone partition, rather
low, but beautifully ornamented,
which encompassed the temple itself
at a distance now unknown, and
parted the Priests from the people.
Within this partition, directly oppo-
site the eastern gate, stood the great
altar of burnt-offerings, fifteen feet
high, thirty feet long, and thirty feet
wide, with a convenient ascent from
the west. The inner space before
the temple appertained solely to the
Priests. The temple itself consisted
of an ante-room, the holy, the most
holy, and the treasuries.

The width of the temple towards
the east was a hundred feet ; the
length of the whole was likewise a
hundred feet ; as was the height.
But the width did not continue
throughout the whole extent of the
length ; but after twenty feet in the
length it became narrower by forty
feet, (twenty on each side,) so that
the width of the nave was only sixty
feet. The principal entrance (which
probably was the only one) was in
the centre of the eastern side. An
ascent of twelve steps led to a splen-
did portal, without doors, seventy
feet high, and twenty-five wide, the
sides of which were most richly in-
laid with gold. As it always re-
mained open, the inner wall and
gate, completely overlaid with gold,
was visible from without. Over the
inner gate, a golden vine, with its
grapes of the size of a full grown
man, excited the admiration of all
beholders. The ante-room was fifty
feet wide, twenty feet long, and
ninety feet high. A rich tapestry
concealed the entrance to the holy

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

173

space ; which was not so lofty as the
ante-room, as at the height of sixty
feet a rich ceiling separated the upper
from the nether space. The entry
was fifty-five feet high, and fifteen
feet wide. Within the tapestry there
was a space twenty feet wide, forty
feet long, and sixty feet high. Here
stood the candlestick with the seven
lamps ; the table for the shew-bread,
and the alter of incense. A second
tapestry, or veil, divided the interior
awful place, called " the most holy ;"
a space of the same width and height
as the former, twenty feet long, and
entirely empty, — the seat of the Deity.
The use to which the upper space
was appropriated has not reached
us ; and was probably known only
to the High Priests.

The three external sides of the
nave were joined by a series of small
rooms, in three floors or compart-
ments above each other. The en-

trances were in the ante-room, at
each side of the inner gate ; and all
these rooms had interior communi-
cations. Their width throughout
was twenty feet, as was the height
of each compartment. In these
rooms the treasures of the temple
were deposited. The roof was co-
vered with heavy gold plates and cor-
nices, to prevent the birds from soil-
ing the holy space.

The whole building was con-
structed of large white marble blocks ;
and, when recognised from afar,
afforded a most splendid prospect,
such as the imagination of the reader
cannot easily depict.*

* From Geschichte der Itraeliten seit der
Zeit der Maccabaeer bis auf Unsre tage :
(" History of the Israelites from 'the days
of the Maccabees nnul the present time."
By I. M. JOST.) 8vo. Berlin, 1820. Vol.
I., page 21.

(To be continued.)

V. MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

--•;~ ~ "•?" n;~t^ Schmonah Perakim Lerambam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

BY MAIMOXIDES.
{Continued from page 160.)

CHAPTER V.

THE true duty of man is, that,
whatever measures he adopts for the
care and preservation of his health
and well-being, his primary intention
must be, that the organs by means
of which the faculties of his soul are
to act (that is, the corporeal parts)
may be in a perfect state ; so that the
soul may, without being impeded by
a disorganized body, strive to attain
moral as well as mental perfection :
And whatever of wisdom or science
he may acquire, which will contribute
to the attaining of his great object,
is certainly a worthy and laudable
pursuit. But such sciences or arts,
as arithmetic, sculpture, geometry,
mechanics, hydraulics, and many
others of a like kind, which do not
directly tend to promote the true
aim of his exertions, must only be
studied or practised in order to ma-
ture the mind, and exercise its pow-
ers of penetration by investigation of

causes and effects, until he acquires
a readiness in logical demonstration
and deduction, as a means of facilita-
ting that acquisition which alone is
worthy of man ; namely, an acquaint-
ance with the essence and attributes
of the Most High, blessed be HE !
Thus in all his undertakings man is
only to study that which may be con-
ducive to the true welfare of his soul
and body, or which tends to obviate
the disadvantages of either : So that
he may attain wisdom and true per-
fection, and contribute to their
praise and general practice, and to
the consequent vituperation and
abandonment of whatever is deroga-
tory to such perfection. For to ren-
der vice contemptible, and to depict
moral imperfections in their native
deformity, so as to cause others to
know and to shun them, is alike a
duty and a virtue ; in proof of which
Holy Writ tells us : " The deeds of
the land of Mizraim in which ye did
dwell, ye shall not imitate ; " (Lev

174

MORALITY OF THE RABB1ES.

xviii. 3 ;) thus pointing out to us the
evil example which we are to shun.
With the same intention the Sacred
Scriptures acquaint us with the fate
of Sodom, and many other criminal
examples, in order that we may know,
avoid, and detest them. Thus Holy
Writ holds up evil deeds to merited
reproach, and good deeds as deserv-
ing our praise and admiration, in or-
der that man may avoid the former
and attach himself to the latter only.

The oian who thus devotes all his
undertakings to the salutary purpose
of promoting the real welfare of his
soul, will douhtless not fail to desist
from, and leave undone, many a deed
which he sees in others. As this his
principal aim assuredly has no con-
nexion with idle luxury, and will not
excite him to indulge in costly orna-
ments or gaudy habiliments ; (except
indeed his morbid state of mind may
find some relief Jin these objects, in
which case they become instrumental
to the restoration of his soul's health,
— the only condition in which he can
acquire true wisdom ;) hence our
Rabbies of blessed memory say, " It
is becoming that a sage should have
a pleasant dwelling, an agreeable
wife, and domestic comfort : " For
continued research wearies the mind ;
and it therefore is a relaxation to be
surrounded by that which is pleasant,
agreeable, and comfortable. Accord-
ingly it is related that when the Rab-
bies became exhausted through in-
tense application and deep research,
they used pleasant and witty conver-
sation as a mean of recruiting their
mental powers. Therefore it is some-
times excusable, if man enjoys him-
self with that which gladdens the
eye, and serves as a relaxation to the
wearied mind.

To live in such a manner that 'all
man's thoughts and all his deeds be
directed but to one object, the pro-
moting of the eternal welfare of his
soul, is a most high degree of moral
perfection, which but few are able
to attain. And even these few must
continually persevere in the path of
virtue, and practise its precepts for
a length of time. "But the reward
is commensurate with his efforts : as
he who thus devotes all the powers
of mind and body to virtuous
purposes, and renders them sub-

servient to the eternal welfare
of his soul, approximates to the
rank of a prophet; that is to say,
is in the full possession of all the
faculties of his soul, and accordingly
directs all his efforts to contemplate
the Deity and his attributes. This
is his object in every word and
deed. This, and what tends to pro-
mote its attainment, are the aim and
the end of his existence. This is
what the Holy One (blessed be HE !)
requires of us ; and therefore He
tells us, " Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and
all thy soul, and all thy means."
(Deut. vi. 5.) The meaning is, All
thy faculties, all thy desires, thy will
and efforts are all to be directed to
one purpose, — to know and to love
the Lord thy God. Thus likewise the
inspired writer encourages us, when
he says, " In all thy ways know
him." (Prov. iii. 6.) Whatever thou
doest, let the knowledge of Him
still be thy aim. This supreme per-
fection, to describe which so many
writers have exhausted the powers
of language, has been depicted by
our Rabbies of blessed memory in
words, few, concise, but so expres-
sive, that it evidently proves they
wrote under the immediate influence
of the Godhead. " Let all thy deeds
be done on account of the Supreme
Being," is their sublime aphorism.

CHAPTER VI.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM
WHO IS TRULY PIOUS FROM IN-
NATE INCLINATION, AND HIM
WHO, AFTER ARDENT STRUGGLES,
SUBDUES HIS PASSIONS AND PUR--
SUES THE PATH OF VIRTUE.

IT has been maintained by philo-
sophers,' that he who subdues his
passions and acts virtuously, does so
from constraint practised by himself
on himself; as the evil inclinations,
though compelled to yield to his
firmness of purpose, yet remain la-
tent within him : So tliat he still re-
mains exposed to the promptings
and temptations of his appetites, de-
sires, and passions, which he is con-
tinually forced to combat and subju-
gate. Therefore, although he is
just and virtuous, yet he suffers in-
wardly from constant agitation of
mind and renewed irritation. But
he that is truly pious acts virtuously

MOBAL1TV Or THE RABBIES.

175

without effort, and from inward in-
clination without struggle. All
philosophers unanimously agree,
that the latter is more perfect, and
superior to him who is forced to con-
strain his inclinations ; and although
he too must in many respects be
considered as pious and virtuous,
yet as evil desires still *lurk within
and tempt him, he cannot be placed
on an equality with him whose incli-
nations are all pure and holy. For
although he does no evil, and over-
comes his desires, nevertheless the
desire itself is a moral imperfection.
The royal philosopher, Solomon,
seems to have entertained a singu,ar
opinion when he says, " The soul
of the wicked desireth evil." (Prov.
xxi. 10.) And he says again in Pro-
verbs : " It is bliss to the righteous
to do justice ; but a torment to the
evil-doer." The meaning is, that the
truly pious does right joyfully and
without effort : (whereas the evil-
doer is tormented by his inward
struggles when required to act
justly ;) and that, consequently, he
who does right only from painful
effort and constrained subjugation
of his natural inclinations, can-
not be considered as good or
truly pious. But when we consult
our Rabbies on this subject, their
maxims appear directly opposed to
the philosophical opinion we men-
tioned above. As they maintain that
he, — who is most strongly urged by
his passions, but does not overcome
them* and sinneth not, — he is far
superior to him who never was
tempted, and does not suffer in-
wardly from successful resistance
to his evil desires. Furthermore,
they assert, that the higher the de-
gree of perfection is which a man
has attained, the more violent are
the temptations to which he is ex-
posed, the more urgent the voice of
his passions ; and that consequently
the efforts of resistance increase in
painfulness. This they express by
saying, " Whosoever is greater than
his neighbour is likewise exposed to
greater temptation." The reward
of him who overcomes his evil in-
clinations is commensurate with the
pains of resistance : Or, in their
own words, " According to the
paina endured is the reward." Thus

R. Simeon the son of Gamaliel says,
" Man is not to say, ' I loathe such
food, I detest enjoyments which are
forbidden ;' — but he should say, ' I
might like all these things, but I
must not, as my Father in heaven
forbids it.' "

A superficial observer might be
induced to think, that this opinion
of the Rahbies and the before-men-
tioned one of the philosophers are
contradictory ; whereas in reality
there is no contradiction between
them. For when the philosophers
assert, that it is an evil to harbour
evil desires and inclinations, al-
though these are successfully resist-
ed ; and that he who is thus beset is
inferior in degree of goodness and
piety; they mean desires leading
to such actions, which all mankind
unite in condemning ; as, blood-
shed, theft, robbery, fraud, causeless
injury, ingratitude, contempt of pa-
rents, and the like. These vices are
such that our Rabbies have said,
" Were these not actually prohibited
in the law, they ought to have been
added to the law." And some of
the modern rhetoricians, who are
infected with the mania of sophistry,
call the prohibition of such crimes,
"the dictates of reason." There
can be no doubt, that a soul which
nourishes the desire of committing
such heinous crimes must be dis-
tempered and imperfect ; as a purer
soul, in its healthful state, would not
entertain any desire or wish for such
foul misdeeds, and cannot suffer
through the non-indulgence of such
inclinations. But when our Rabbies
say, that he who overcomes his de-
sire is superior in merit, and more
greatly rewarded, than he who is
never tempted ; they speak of such
transgressions only as are prohibited
by the law, and which but for the
law we should not have known to
be transgressions. Of these they
assert, that it is most meritorious if
the natural appetite does prompt
man to transgress, but respect for
the law and obedience to its com-
mands alone restrain him. Weigh
the wisdom of their opinion by the
examples which they adduce in its
support. They do not teach us :
— " Man must not say, I loathe to
commit murder, I detest to steal or

176 NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

to lie," &c. &c. All the instances the red heifer, the goat sent into the

which they mention only relate to desert, mixed garments, &c. And those

such offences which, but for the en- which modern rhetoricians call " the

actments of the law, would not be dictates of reason," our Rabbies

known or acknowledged as sinful; denominatemVD "commandments."
such as forbidden food, or unlawful From all that has been hitherto

enjoyments. These enactments are said it becomes easy to distingush

in the law called Mlpn "statutes," those desires, the very presence of

which, as our Rabbies caution us, which denotes a distempered soul,

" must not be subjected to ratiocina- and those others, to be tempted by

tion," are both positive and negative, which is not an evil, although it

and generally made the subject of is most meritorious to overcome

infidel cavils : As, for instance, them.
(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.
SIR,

IN reply to your correspondent "B. E.," I submit there can be no doubt
that the words p^i?il V21 are correctly rendered in the later versions to
which " B. E." refers; because were the translation, " the liver of the goats,"
the original would have been D^tyn 115, the Hebrew word for liver being
115, and not 1 '•ID. For, whatever the real meaning of the latter word may
be, I apprehend that throughout the Scriptures it is never made to signify
" liver."

For the position I have taken, I refer you, by way of authority, to Ge-
senius, edited by Gibbs, pages 264 and 265 ; and to M. Joseph's English
and Hebrew Lexicon, part I. page 172, and part II. page 229.

Allow me, Sir, as a brother Israelite, to express my approval of your
undertaking, which I hope and believe will be productive of much good to
the community for whom it is designed. Nay, more ; every admirer of
sound philosophy who peruses the pages of your Review will perceive that
the literature of the Hebrews is of the noblest quality, for it aims to inculcate
the infinity and goodness of the " great First Cause."

I am, Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

South-Place, 8th Dec. 1834. S. S.

MY DEAR SIR,

IN No. 10 of your valuable Journal, a correspondent is anxious to know
the true translation of the words, Onyn T>1D, 1 Samuel xix. 13 ; and he

?uotes the Septuagint and Josephus, who render it " the livers of goats.''
t is evident, that, either from ignorance, or from a spurious copy before
them, they read these words, D^n Ill, which certainly mean "goats'
liver : " And hence Josephus trumped up the ridiculous story of " the
liver of a kid newly killed, which, by its palpitation, is supposed to be the
body of a sick person," &c. &c. I hardly need say, that our Masoretic
reading is correct : VIS, according to the learned Kimchi, signifies " a
matting or mattress of goats' hair," (D"1}^ 1Q¥ l»ttf*li) and, according to
his opinion, the cognate wordslllD, "net, covering," and nil 5, "a seive,"
and some others, derive from the same source. The Syriac and Vulgate
express it "goats' skin," the Targum Jonathan renders it M^i> TlD»
" a bale " or " seron" made of goats' skin ; which Kimchi explains thus :
"The hair was placed upwards, and therefore she put it on his head."
I trust your querist will be satisfied with the above definitions.
Dec. 8th, 1834. M. J.

LONDON -.—Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

BEVEXTEEVTH DAY OF KISI.EV, 5595.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1834.

No. 12.

I. THE MISHNA.
, Mescheth Aboth : " THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

WITH COMMENTS BY XAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.*

MOSES obtained the Law at Sinai, and transmitted the same to Joshua; Joshua to the
Elders ; these to the Prophets ; and the Prophets transmitted the same to the men of the
Great Assembly. — (Jfes. Ab. cap^i.l.)

COMMENTARY. Moses obtained the
Law at Sinai— The account of the
transmission opens with an expres-
sion differing from that used in the
subsequent stages of its progress.

We are told that Moses obtained;
not "the Deity transmitted to Moses,"
as the latter did to Joshua. And
the last phrase is continued through
several generations until Antigonus
of Socho, when we are again told,
" He obtained," &c. There is a con-
siderable difference between obtain-
ing and transmission. The latter
term denotes something which
passes from hand to hand, as in the
Talmud, (Baba Metzia, folio 7,)
" What is understood by the word
transmission ? The act of a man who
hands something over to his neigh-
bour ;" which is never done inde-
pendent of the special intention, on
the part of him who transmits, that
it shall go into certain hands only.
The word obtain denotes a receiving
which does not imply any intention,
on the part of the donor, to give ex-
clusively to him who receives : As,
for instance, a man throws down
something which he does not intend
for any one in particular. Another
finds it, and takes it up. He has con-
sequently obtained it, although it has
not been transmitted or handed to
him. Such are the gradations ob-
served in the transmission of the
Law from generation to generation.
When the Deity appeared on Mount
* "ilb I", Jain Lebanon, Commentary
on the Treatise Aboth. Berlin, 1774-5,
(5535,) folio.

2 A

Sinai, he commanded Moses and
said, " Assemble the people, and I
will cause them to hear my words."
(Deut. iv. 10.) His will was to im-
part his law to the whole nation ; for
He (blessed be HE !) is not envious
or sparing of his grace : And had
the whole nation been possessed of
firmness of mind sufficient for re-
ceiving the Law, it would have been
bestowed on them directly. But
they could not support the Divine
presence, and refused to receive the
immediate communication, and ex-
claimed, " If we continue to hear
the Lord, we shall die." (Deut. v.
25.) " Do thou approach and hear
all which the Lord our God will say."
(ib. 27.) Such again was the case,
likewise, after the men of the Great
Assembly who publicly taught the
Law to all ; but only one out of all
(Antigonus of Socho) was fortunate
enough to obtain and retain the Law,
as Moses was so fortunate, among
all the Israelites, to obtain and re-
tain the Law communicated to all
Israel. For the Law was not be-
stowed on Moses exclusively ; and
though it was well known to the
Deity that all Israel (with the sole
exception of Moses) were incapable
of receiving his direct communica-
tions, he nevertheless evinced to
them the kindness he entertains for
all bis creatures, and his desire that
they should all become partakers of
his bounty, and the bliss of his di-
rect communication, provided their
merits and firmness of mind rendered
them capable of that communication.

178

THE MISHNA.

For such are the ways of the Deity.
He sends Prophets to exhort men to
repent and amend their evil prac-
tices, in order that they may avoid
the punishment of the wrath to
come ; although he knows that these
exhortations will remain ineffectual,
and that men will not incline their
hearts to sincere repentance and de-
sist from their evil ways. For the
Lord is righteous in all his works ;
and therefore places the incentives to
repentance and amelioration within
the reach of sinful man. Thus Moses
ohtained the Law, although not es-
pecially destined for him ; but he
transmitted it to Joshua, because
Joshua had alone been appointed,
from amongst all Israel, as capable
to succeed him, and to receive that
Law which Moses handed over to
him. For Joshua waa known to
Moses to possess a great and firm
mind ; as it is said, " Take unto thee
Joshua, the son of Nun, a man with-
in whom there is Spirit." (Num.
xxvii. IS.) " And Joshua, the son
of Nun, was full of the Spirit of wis-
dom ; for Moses had laid his hands
on him." (Deut. xxxiv. 19.) Not
that he was full of the Spirit of wis-
dom because Moses laid his hands
on him ; but Moses did so by the
Divine command, because Joshua
was full of the Spirit of wisdom, and
was the only one amongst all Israel
who, in so eminent a degree, was
imbued with that Spirit. Thus
the transmission continued from
Joshua downwards unto the men
of the Great Assembly; as the
Israelites till then had in no age been
deficient of Prophets, or men gifted
with the Holy Spirit. The Law was,
therefore, regularly transmitted or
handed over by one of these inspired
men to another, whose distinguished
capabilities to receive the Law gene-
rally, and all its minute precepts, were
known and approved. But after the
men of the Great Assembly, — Hag-
gai, Zachariah, Malachi, Daniel, and
their associates, — the Spirit of pro-
phecy departed from Israel. None
stood forth pre-eminent above his
fellor/s, as sufficiently distinguished
and qualified to have the Law trans-
mitted to him. They, therefore,
were constrained to open a school,
and publicly to teach to all, without

knowing which of their pupils would
be so fortunate as to profit most by,
and best to retain, their instructions;
therefore the phrase thenceforward
used is again, " They obtained," and
no longer, " It was transmitted to
them."

At Sinai — In the Torath Cohanim,
(chap, ii.,) we read, " R. Jose, the
Galilaean, saith, The Law was com-
municated to Moses in three places ;
1. In Egypt. 2. At Mount Sinai. 3. In
the tabernacle of the congregation."
The question, then, arises, Why did
our instructor,* when he composed
the Mishna, mention but one of these
places ? and why was he silent re-
specting the other two ? It cannot
be asserted that the whole of the
Law was communicated at Sinai, and
merely repeated in the tabernacle ; as
we find that the command concerning
the Paschal offering of the second
month was given in the tent : as
Moses uses the word, " Stay ye here,
and I will ascertain what the Lord will
command concerning you." (Num.
ix. 8.) Such is likewise the case with
the law of inheritance, where it is
said, " And Moses submitted their
claim to the Lord ;" (Num. xxvii. 5;)
which proves that this law had not
been imparted to Moses till then,
forty years later than the revelation
of Mount Sinai. Another question
which arises is, Why does our teach-
er, say " Moses obtained the law
at Sinai ?" why does he not say,
"from the Holy One ? (blessed be
HE !) " The answers are : He does
not here wish to teach us, that
the law was communicated in three
places, as this is a fact evident
from the narrative of Holy Writ,
that the Law was so communicated
and subsequently repeated in the
plains of Moab. The Torath Coha-
nim only mentions this fact for the
purpose of impressing on us, that
the Divine communication was di-
rectly addressed to Moses alone.
But the intention is to convince us
of the perfect truth of the tradition,
and that Moses our master (peace be
with him !) was actually the man to
whom these laws were imparted by the
Deity; as the great events which oc-
curred at Sinai made known to, and
* Rabenu Hakadosli, the c-ompilov of iliif
Mishna.

THE M1SHNA,

179

convinced, allisraelthat Moses is truly
the messenger of God, and that his .
law is true : as it is written, " Behold
I come to thee in a thick cloud, in
order that the people may hear when
I speak to thee, and may likewise
believe in thee for ever." (Exodus
xix. 9.) That is, " Henceforth not
ie present generation of Israel,
but all succeeding generations, will
believe in thee for ever ; and be as-
sured that thou art the true Prophet
who received the Law, and that there
is no other Prophet like unto thee."
Had the Lord not vouchsafed to re-
veal himself at Sinai unto a!l Israel,
and had only communicated the
Lav.- to Moses in private, as was the
case in Egypt and in the tabernacle,
it is possible that some doubts might
have lurked in the minds of the peo-
ple respecting the truth of the reve-
lation afforded to Moses. For, the
establishing a revelation as true re-
quires the most forcible evidence ;
and therefore the Deity convinced
the whole nation of his presence.
They all heard the voice of the living
God out of the midst of the fire : As
it is written, " This day we have seen
that God speaketh to man, who yet re-
mains alive."(Deut.v. 24.) This pro ves
the extreme' astonishment of the Is-
raelites at this most wonderful fact.
They likewise became convinced of
the Divine justice in selecting Moses
only as the medium of communica-
tion ; because they saw, that no other
Sage or Prophet, save Moses alone,
possessed strength of mind and firm-
ness sufficient to support the direct
communication of the law from the
Lord. For on this occasion all Israel
were assembled without any excep-
tion ; and among them all there was
not one, beside M oses, whow as capable
of standing forth in the Divine pre-
sence. They therefore authorized
and deputed Moses when they said
to him, "Approach thou, and hear
all that the Lord our God will speak."
(Deuteronomy v. 27.) If, therefore,
in after-times, any Prophet had arisen
who pretended that a Divine revela-
tion had been communicated unto him,
which contained laws from heaven,
we may know and be convinced that
the Prophet hath spoken presumptu-
ously ; not only should this pretended
Jaw be contrary to that of Moses, but

•2

likewise if he adds any new law,
which, he says, is to remain in force
for ever. For we are convinced by
the positive evidence of sight and
In aring, that the Lord spake unto
Moses; and "God is not a man that
he should lie, or a son of man that
he should repent." (Num. xxii. 1Q.)
We are likewise convinced by the
fact at Sinai, that, amongst all the
myriads of Israel, there was no man,
save and except Moses, [who was
capable of supporting the awful pre-
sence of the Deity, or able to receive
the direct communication of the law.
Therefore, the pretensions of any
other mortal, that a law was revealed
to him from heaven, are decidedly
fictitious, and not entitled to our
belief. Perhaps the question may
arise, " How do we know that all the
other laws were communicated by the
Deity, as the Ten Commandments
only were imparted to all the nation
by tha audible voice and visible pre-
sence of the Lord at Sinai ? " We
answer : Before the revelation of
Mount Sinai, the Lord made known
from heaven, that Moses is truly his
Messenger, and that the law which is
to be given through him is true. If
we attentively read the words of
Holy Writ, we find this our assertion
fully confirmed. Accordingly we
quote, " And the voice of the trum-
pet increased and became exceedingly
strong: -Hi" ntl'2, Moses will speak ;
blpai33r***rn, A,\d the Lord trill
answer him with voice." * (Exodus
xix. 17, 19.) This was on the third
day. The passage we have quoted
is remarkable and difficult, as subse-
quently it is written, " And the Lord
descended [on Mount Sinai, and the
Lord called Moses." (Exodus xix. 20.)
What then did Moses say before the
Lord descended on Mount Sinai ?
And what did the Lord an.-wer him?
What is the meaning of the words,
~-~*, "he will speak," and •;:;;•
" he will answer him," both words,
being in the future tense ? What is
the true meaning of, i>lp2, "with
voice ? "

* In the authorized version, and generally
in translations of the Bible, these words are
rendered, " Moses spoke, and the Lord an-
ftrered him with a loud voice.'' This ren-
dering, however, is not grammatically cor-
rect, as onr author prove?.
A 2

180

THE MISHNA.

To remove all the difficulties which
these questions involve, we say, On
the third day, before Moses was
called to ascend the Mount, voices,
lightnings, and the thick cloud, and
the exceedingly strong sound of the
trumpet, were seen and heard. And
the Sacred Scriptures relate, "The
voice of the trumpet increased and
became exceedingly strong : " It was
consequently heard throughout the
whole encampment of Israel, who
were at the foot of the Mount. This
voice (which they all heard) pro-
nounced the words : " Moses shall
speak, and the Lord will answer with
voice." The meaning is, " Moses
shall speak to you, and communicate
my laws, my statutes, and command-
ments. To him ye shall hearken ;
for I the Lord have appointed him ;
and whenever he appeals to me I
will answer him 31JM3 with voice ; "
that is to say, by prophecy, as we

find ino l^prrnN yotm, "And

he heard the voice speaking unto IvN
him." (Numbers vii. 89.)

Thus then we perceive that the
truth of the mission of Moses, and
of the laws, statutes, and command-
ments, which, subsequently to the
revelation of Mount Sinai, he im-
parted to the Israelites, were con-
firmed by the Deity, and rested on
the same evidence of sight and hear-
ing of all the nation as the Ten Com-
mandments which were imparted to
all Israel at Sinai. Nor is it possible
that stronger or more positive proof
can be afforded to establish the au-
thority of any law revealed from hea-
ven. With this purpose it is that
our Instructer mentions Sinai only ;
thereby to recall the publicity of that
revelation which was afforded to all
Israel, so as not to leave a shadow of
doubt respecting the truth and au-
thority of the law.

And transmitted the same to Joshua
— Although Moses taught the law to
all Israel, he transmitted or handed
it over to the especial guardianship
of Joshua only. And though, when
Israel entered into the promised land,
Eleazar the Priest, and Phineas his
son, were yet alive, nevertheless
Joshua, by Divine command, was the
head of the national tribunal, and
Prophet of the Lord, by whom he

had been appointed the successor of
Moses : As it is written, " Take unto
thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man
within whom there is spirit : And
thou shalt lay thy hand upon him."
(Numbers xxvii. 18.) In being thus
selected by the Deity, we are certain
that he alone of Israel was capable to
undertake the important task of
becoming the successor of Moses ;
for God alone penetrates the inmost
heart of man, and scans his secret
thoughts. Accordingly Holy Writ
gives its evidence to the propriety of
the selection, and says, " Joshua,
the son of Nun, was full of the spirit
of wisdom, for Moses laid his hands
on him." (Deuteronomy xxxiv. 19.)
The latter part of the sentence is
adduced as a proof of the truth
of the first part. " Joshua was
full of the spirit of wisdom," and
therefore Moses, by the Divine
command, rested his hand on him,
and thereby appointed him his suc-
cessor.

Joshua to the Elders — These were
the wise men of his age, who were
members of the supreme national
tribunal. As we find, "And Israel
served the Lord during all the day?
of Joshua, and all the days of the
Elders who survived him for a length
time." (Joshua xxiv. 34.) Which
proves that these Elders adminis-
tered the law unto Israel after the
decease of Joshua. They likewise
were, doubtless, men endowed with
the spirit of wisdom, among whom
there were Prophets : As from the
days of Moses, until the Babylonian
captivity, and the days of the last
Prophets, the glory of the Lord did
not depart from Israel, to accomplish
the Divine promise of Moses : " A
Prophet from the midst of thee, from
thy brethren like unto me, will the
Lord thy God raise unto thee."
(Deuteronomy xviii. 15.)

The Elders to the Prophets — Ac-
cording to the preceding statement,
there were, among the Elders, men
who were gifted with the Spirit of
prophecy ; the question therefore
arises : " Why is the distinction here
made between Elders and Prophets,
so that each appears to form a sepa-
rate class ? " The intention is, to
teach that in the knowledge of the
law a Prophet does not, as such

THE MISHNA.

181

possess authority superior to that of
any other Sage. As even the Pro-
phets were ~ pupils of the Elders
from whom they had to learn
and receive the laws, statutes, and
commandments. Because these
Elders received the same from their
teacher, who received it from his,
even up to Moses and Sinai. And if
the prophets had not received the
law by transmission, no revelation
would have imparted the same to
them ; as Moses was the only pro-
phet able to support the communica-
tion of the law. All the other pro-
phets were merely commissioned to
exhort the people, and to cause them
duly to observe the law of Moses,
and do what is just and proper ; also
to predict the punishments decreed
against those who forsook the path
of the Lord, of virtue and piety, the
rewards apportioned to the righteous,
and the evils denounced against na-
tions and empires ; to counsel and
decide respecting the undertakings
of their nation in war and peace; and
other similar functions. But pro-
phecy had no reference to, or influ-
ence on, the law; which circumstance
forms the essential difference between
Moses and all other prophets, as laid
down in Holy Writ : " There arose
not again in Israel a prophet like
unto Moses, by whom the Lord was
known face to face." (Deut. xxxiv.
10.) The words, " known face to
face," express the exalted emanation
of Divine wisdom which is ingrafted
in the statutes and commandments
of the law, revealed and made known
to Moses only of all the prophets ; —
a most important principle on which
rests the immutable continuation of
the law ; as no man can, in the name
of the Lord, announce a new law,
although it be not contrary to the
law of Moses, or be only intended to
explain any commandment of the
law or to decide its true intent by
means of prophetic inspiration. As
our Rabhies say in the Talmud,
(treatise Megillak, folio 2,) " These
are the commandments — No prophet
can add any new commandment to
these." And further, (Talmud, trea-
tise Baba Bathra, folio 73,) " And
of thy splendour, thou shall impart to
him. (Numbers xxvii. 190 — Qf thy
splendour, not thy whole splendour."

The elders in the days of Moses said,
" The face of Moses is like that of the
sun ; the face of Joshua is like that
of the moon." Their meaning was,
that, although Joshua surpassed all
Israelites, yet he did not equal Moses.
They therefore assimilated Moses to
the sun, which derives its light di-
rectly from the Deity, while Joshua
and all the other prophets re-
ceive their light from the law of
Moses, and are therefore like the
moon, which reflects a borrowed light.
And they use the words, face of
Moses, and face of Joshua, in allu-
sion to the words of Holy Writ,
" face to face," which, as we stated
above, express the exalted emanation
of Divine wisdom ingrafted in the
law. As the moon affords its bor-
rowed light to the inhabitants of the
earth, so likewise do the prophets in
Israel shine but solely in the light
bestowed on them by the law of
Moses, which alone emanates from
the Deity.

The prophets transmitted the law to
the men of the Great Assembly — These
were in the Babylonish captivity, and
men of great wisdom. Some of them
were the last of the prophets. In
their number are likewise comprised
Baruch, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah,
Shariah, Reeliah, Mordecai, and
their numerous associates ; all and
each of whom were capable of having
transmitted to him and them the
whole of the law. Theirs was called
" the Great Assembly," as this con-
gregation of holy men restored the
crown to its ancient dignity. They
settled a liturgy for all Israel, as the
decreasing spirit and knowledge of
the people rendered it necessary.
They taught the ]a\v publicly ; and
established good regulations for the
welfare of iheir people. And although
the whole of the members of this
Assembly were not contemporary,
yet from the (iays of Ezra until those
of Simon the Just, the Great Assem-
bly continued, as vacancies caused
by death were filled up by the wisest
and best of the nation ; so that its
dignity and authority equalled those
of the prophets. This state of things
continued until the days of Antigo-
nus of Socho, when the great num-
ber of ancient sages and pre-eminent
men capable of having the law trans-

182

JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE.

mitted to them, died off; so that were so fortunate as to obtain
thenceforth but solitary individuals knowledge of the whole law.

(To be continued.")

II. JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE,

AS THEY WERE IN THE TIME OF THE HERODIANS.

(Continued from paye 173.)

NORTH-WEST of the temple, ad-
joining Mount Moriah, stood the
Castle Baris or Antonia ; an erection
intended (as we have already stated)
to awe and bridle the people assem-
bled on the mount of the temple. A
high rock was chosen on which to
place the formidable fortress. The
rock was rendered perpendicular by
walls of hewn stone, so that all at-
tempts to climb up its height became
impossible. The princes of the As-
monsean dynasty at first erected a
building, in the shape of a tower or
keep, in which they took up their
residence. Herod added to the al-
ready strongly-fortified citadel. The
circumference of the upper space was
two stadia, or twelve hundred feet.
A wall three feet high surrounded it
within ; the sides were covered by
piazzas, or halls resting on pillars.
The palace was erected in the midst,
and was forty feet high. A large
armoury, several courts with dwell-
ings for the warriors, baths, and
other conveniences, surrounded the
palace. At each of its four corners,
a lofty tower was raised, three of
which were fifty feet high ; the fourth
in the south-eastern angle was se-
venty feet high, and overlooked the
whole of the temple. Covered gal-
leries led from this castle into the
outer halls of the temple, in order,
at all times, to secure an entrance
for the soldiers from this fortress
into the temple.

Another strong castle, an erection
of Herod's, stood on the western
side of the temple, but at a greater
distance, and formed a second for-
tress. This was a most splendid
building, with innumerable apart-
ments, differing in tize and structure,
and refectories of a hundred couches.
Splendid galleries and piazzas were
intermixed. The interior of the
apartments was ornamented with
beautiful Mosaic floors, splendid

ceilings, and costly furniture. The
courts were formed into green lawns.
Groves and orchards, with fountains
and cascades, where the water flow-
ed out of bronze statues, embellished
the open spaces. Strong walls and
high towers defended this spacious
and costly pile. One of the towers
which the founder, in honour of one
of his friends, called Hippicus, was
twenty-five feet square, thirty feet
high, and very massive. On its
summit was a reservoir for water,
twenty feet deep; and at the sides
were two compartments of rooms
above each other. Above these
dwellings, which reached the height
of twenty-five feet, was raised the bul-
wark of three feet, which was covered
by a roofed balustrade two feet high.

The second tower called Phasael,
after king Herod's brother, had for
its base a polygon forty feet high ;
on which was erected a piazza ten
feet high. This surrounded a tower
fifty feet in height, which contained
dwellings provided with every con-
venience, and surmounted by a bul-
wark and covered balustrades. The
third and most splendid towtr, called
Mariamne, was worthy of commem-
orating the beautiful and virtuous
lady whose name it bore. A poly-
•gon of twenty feet was its founda-
tion. The building erected thereon
to the height of thirty-five feet, simi-
lar in shape to the others, was more
splendidly constructed and furnished
than those on the other towers.
Blocks of white marble, twenty feet
long, ten feet wide, *|nd five feet
high, were cemented with so much
care throughout the whole of the
building, that the joints were scarcely
perceptible.

Many other biiildings, which until
that period had remained unknown
to the Jews, and which were devoted
to unholy purposes, soon ornamented
the city, and gave to foreign customs

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE?.

183

and amusements a local habitation
in Jerusalem. An amphitheatre,
a theatre, a circus, an arena, ar-
ranged in the Roman style, taught
the people to ape the Romans ; and,
through the degrading abuse of these
places of amusement, to barter the
ancient dignity of the nation for the
idle and momentary enjoyment of
the games of folly. For in those
days, these pastimes were, — as is still
but too frequently the case, — a sen-
sual excitement for debaiiched idlers,
rather than a relaxation from in-
dustrious toil, or a recompense for
time usefully employed.

Who so blind that he saw not,
in these lesser erections, the germ of
that destruction which overwhelmed
yon splendid fortresses ?

Such was the interior of the city.
The number and position of its gates
can no longer be ascertained.

Near the city eastward, at a dis-
tance of about five stadia from the
city-walls, stood the Mount of Olives.
The intervening space was formed
by a deep valley, and by the brook
Kidron. This mountain is very high,
and its summit affords a full view
over the whole city, and eastward to
the Jordan. It bears many olive
trees, whence it derives the name.
The Garden Gethsemane (from the
Hebrew Gath Schemen, " the oil-
press," was situated here.

To the west stood the hill Golgo-
tha, probably the place of execution
for malefactors ; for the name de-
notes " place of skulls," like the
Latin word, Calvaria, the subsequent
name of this hill. Some of the fa-
thers of the church have discovered,
— we know not by what indications,
or on what authority — that the mor-
tal remains of our first father Adam
are entombed in this spot. Many
similar fables are related respecting
other wondrous places surrounding
this holy city.

The valley of Hinnom extended
to the south-east, pleasant, and rich
in fruit-trees, and watered by the
brooks Kidron and Gihon. This
s;:ot had, however, in days of re-
motest antiquity, been selected as
i for the cruel immolation of
.. victims. The Jews assign
the name of this spot — once devoted
to the most horrid inhumanity — to
the place of punishment for departed
sinners.

The city received its supply of
water from the neighbouring brooks,
by means of aqueducts, and the re-
servoirs or cisterns received the rain,
which was used to drink. Thus the
arts supplied the wants which nature
had not afforded to this rocky soil,
which it stinted with the hand of a
stepmother.

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim .- "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 170J

CHAPTER XXII.

ALL enquirers and philosophers
are unanimous in the opinion, that
we cannot assign to the Deity any
qualities either essential or accidental,
except by means of the effects pro-
duced by him, as we have demon-
strated in the ninth chapter of this
division. Such likewise is the opin-
ion of all learned Divines, who in
this instance agree with the philoso-
phers, and accordingly Rabenu Mo-es
the son of Mainon writes : " He who
asserts that the Holy One (blessed
be HE !) has essential qualities which

nevertheless do not cause any plural-
ity in his being, — he who asserts this,
confounds affirmation and negation,
and does not himself perceive the
gross inconsistency of his assertion."
He therefore says that it is impossi-
ble to assign to the Deity any abso-
lute or positive quality ; and it is
only in a negative sense that any
attributes that we assign to him can
be justified ; except those which are
evinced in the effects he produces,
and he goes on to say ; " The Deity
is called Producer or First Cause, be-
cause whatever exists is produced by
him. He is likewise called the Ani-

1S4

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE*.

mator, the Worker, the Creator, the
Maker, the Preserver, because all
these names express his relation to
his creatures. He is likewise called
wise, because all his works evince
the very highest wisdom ; merciful,
benevolent, and gracious, because
we perceive that he governs the uni-
verse in mercy, good- will, and grace ;
not as a recompense, for he receives
nothing from any being, but from
the free bounty of his own will ; as
it is said : " Who has preceded me,
to whom do Ijowe any recompense ? "
(Job xli. 2.) In like manner he is
called beneficent, and full of charity,
because he bestows the gifts of his
kindness on all beings, who can re-
turn him nothing, and from whom
therefore he expects no reward, which
is the true characteristic of generous
beneficence. For this quality is ap-
proved in two objects ; him who re-
ceives, and him who bestows. In
the first by having bestowed on him
something which is beneficial to
him ; as for instance, if a person dis-
tributes three gifts to three different
persons, a sword to a boy, an ele-
mentary book to a woman, and a dis-
taff to a man, he has done an act of
kindness to neither, as his gifts are
useless to the objects of his bounty.
They can only then become useful
and really acts of kindness, if he ap-
portions his presents according to
their wants, giving the sword to the
man, the distaff to the woman, and
the book to the boy. The second
(the donor) in order to entitle him-
self to the name of generous and
benevolent, must not do his acts of
charity from any latent view of ad-
vantage to himself; because, were he
actuated by any such view he can no
longer be called beneficent, but a
trader who trafficks with his gifts,
and looks upon them as baits to se-
cure to himself worldly honour, and
advantage. Although he, give two-
fold the amount of the advantage
which accrues to him from his kind-
ness, he is still but a trader, who es-
timates the advantage he purchases
for himself as equal in value to the
price he pays for it ; so that at best
he is a liberal dealer. He must like-
wise not seek praise or commenda-
tion, or bestow his charity in order
to avoid blame. For although these

last motives do not so directly evince
the spirit of trafficking as the former,
they nevertheless remain a species of
bargain and sale. The Holy One
(blessed be HE I) distributes to each
being that perfection, shape, and en-
joyment, which is most salutary to
him ; as our Rabbles remark on the
works of creation, that all beings
are created according to their own
wishes and desires, each with that
particular shade and colouring in
its conformation which is most agree-
able to it. (Talmud, treatise Rosh-
hashanah, folio 11.) Their meaning is,
that when the Deity created all
beings, he vouchsafed unto each of
them that conformation and shape,
which to it (respectively) appears the
most beautiful and appropriate ; and,
by way of illustration, the Rabbies say,
that if it were possible to inquire of
every animate being its own opinion
or choice respecting the conforma-
tion peculiar to it as compared to
that of others, there is no doubt but
that each assigns the preference to
itself, its shape and structure ; conse-
quently, the act of kindness bestow-
ed on each recipient is really and
truly a generous act, inasmuch as
each has had bestowed on him that
which is most useful. The Donor
(blessed be HE !) has most assuredly
not created all these beings for his
own advantage, or to derive any re-
compense from them, or to avoid
blame. He alone, therefore, is truly
generous and beneficent, not only on
account of the first creation, but of
the continued, uninterrupted, and
everlasting grace and mercy which
preserves the universe and the mani-
fold creatures which it contains. Of
him the Sacred Singer truly says,
" Praise ye the Lord, for he is good,
his mercy endureth for ever."
(Psalm cvi. 1.) His meaning is,
that the greatest of the manifold
mercies of the Deity is, that his
" mercy endureth for ever." There-
fore, likewise, it is said "of the Holy
One, " Blessed are those who pre-
serve justice. He nun}? ' doetk'
righteously at all times." (Psalm
cvi. 3 ) As the verb " preserve" is
plural, (" those who,") whereas Jityii?
" the doer," is singular, my opinion
is, that we ought to read, "Blessed
are those who preserve the justice of

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

him who doeth righteously at all
times,'' as they strive to imitate him.
In this sense our Rabbies expound,
" Thou shalt walk in his icays."
(Dent, xxviii. 9 ) "As he is gra-
cious, so shalt thou be gracious ; as
he is merciful so shalt thou be mer-
ciful," &c. The Deity is likewise
called "long-suffering, and most'mer-
ciful," &c., and visiting the sins of the
fathers on their children, &c., (Exod.
xxxiv. 2, &c.,) on account of the
effects which emanate from him and
which govern human kind ; these
qualities are possible in his divine
nature, although they are conflict-
ing attributes, as long-suffering and
mercy opposed to " visiting the sins
of the fathers on the children."
When Moses prayed to the Deity,
"Make known to me thy ways,"
(Exod. xxxiii. 13,) his meaning was :
Teach me to understand how is it
possible that an absolute unity like
thyself, can be implored to exercise
various attributes, as thou art not
influenced by matter as man is. In
compliance with this request, the
Deity reveals the thirteen attributes
with which he governs human kind,
and that therefore it is proper that
man should implore, and invoke the
exercise of these attributes. In re-
ference to this passage of Holy Writ,
our Rabbies say, And the Lord passed
before him, fyc. (Exod. xxxiv. 6 )
R. Jochanan saith, "Had these words
not been written in the law, it would
be impossible for human tongue to
utter them ; they teach us that the
Holy One (blessed be HE !) enve-
loped himself like a "niy rrr'-,
'the reader to a congregation,' in
his attributes, and revealed unto
Rloses. Whenever thy people sin,
and invoke my mercy in the manner
I now make known to thee, I will
pardon their transgression." (Talmud,
treatise Rosh hashanah, folio 17.)
Their meaning is, that the Holy One
revealed to Moses in his prophetic
vision, that it behoves man to im-
plore the divine mercy by invoking
the thirteen attributes with which
the human race is governed. Such
actributes which are evidenced by
their effect, we are, according to the
opinion of Maimonides, permitted to
ascribe to the Deity to invoke and
to praise. But such attributes which

2

ar<^ not evidenced in their effects, but
which we ascribe to Him in his being,
we are not permitted to praise or im-
plore ; accordingly our Rabbies say,
" The expression God, the Great,
the Omnipotent, and the Tremen-
dous ! which we use in our prayers,
although Moses set the example by
invoking the Deity in these terms, no
one presumed to employ, until the
men of the Great Assembly expound-
ed their true meaning." As these
attributes do not produce any appa-
rent effects on earth, where we behold
evil doers flourishing, and the op-
pressor of his people prosperous, we
would not dare to invoke these attri-
butes. But the men of the Great
Assembly taught us that these attri-
butes likewise are active in the
government of human beings ; inas-
much as his greatness is that he is
long-suffering to sinners, his tremen-
dousness is that he preserves one peo-
ple amidst all the nations of the earth,
and so forth ; (Talmud, treatise Jo-
mah, folio 69, page 2,) therefore they
permitted us to use these words
in our invocations. But even those
qualities which are apparent in their
effects, we are to attribute to Him in
their perfection only, and free from
all and every concomitant defect,
which, when assigned to man, they
-imply. As although such qualities
cause a mutation in our being by
exciting within us a sensation which,
till then, remained latent, or trans-
poses us from one state of feeling
into an opposite one, it does not of
necessity follow that these qualities
mu?t or can produce the same effect
on Him. (Blessed be He !) For his
ways are not like our ways, and his
thoughts not like ours.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE qualities which are attributed
to the Holy One, (blessed be He !)
but which are not evinced in the ef-
fects he produces; as his unity, pri-
ority, truth, and others of the same
kind, can only be assigned to Him,
negatively, and in accordance with
the opinions of philosophers, sages,
and divines. As we have already
fully demonstrated with regard to the
words in«, "one," and p~~-,
" primary." The word n^rt, " true,"'
denotes that existence which does not

186

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES,

depend on any thing external to, or
besides, itself, as we intend here-
after to explain more at large. It is,
however, impossible to assign that
quality to Him positively : for were
attributes assigned to Him as essen-
tial and positive, they would not con-
fer on Him any praiseworthy ex-
cellence, but would, on the contrary,
derogate from Him who is all-perfect
and infinite. We find in the Talmud,
(treatise Berachoth, folio 35,) a nar-
rative from which our Rabbies- took
the opportunity, according to their
wonted method of instruction, to con-
vey in few and simple, but apposite,
words, a most sublime lesson. An in-
dividual mounted the pulpit, in the
presence of R. Chanina, and in pro-
nouncing prayers, he enlarged on
he attributes of the Deity ; calling
Him the Mighty, the Pious, the True,
the Powerful, the Good, the Just,
&c , &c. R Chanina remained silent
until the prayers were concluded ;
when he addressed this individual,
and said, "Hast thou at last com-
pleted the praises of thy Lord? Thy
conduct resembles that of a man who
wishes to praise the riches of a mo
narch that has a million golden dinars
in his treasury, and who says, ' Ve-
rily, thou art rich ; thou hast a mil-
lion coins of silver in thy treasury.'
This would not give an exalted idea
of the royal riches, but, on the con-
trary, depreciate them ; such is thy
lengthy praise of the Deity." R.
Chanina, in his simile, does not say
that the injudicious praiser of the
royal riches lessens their nominal
amount, though he greatly reduces
their value. Such is any attempt on
our part to define the pe fections of
the Holy One, (blessed be He !) as
in him every thing is infinite, and,
consequently, inconceivable to us.
It therefore behoves us in our pray-
ers not to enlarge on his attributes,
or to add to those qualifications
which, on the authority of Moses
and the prophets, are contained in
our orisons. And in expressing
these attributes, we must be aware
that they are so expressed because
language does not furnish us with
any terms more appropriate to con-
vey our ideas, but that they are to
be understood as negatives only.
Thus the qualifications of the

Deity are twofold ; in himself, and
evinced by the effects He produces.
The first are so completely and ut-
terly incomprehensible, even to the
wisest of mortals, that it is impossible
at all to conceive them except nega-
tively. The second are conceivable
to all mankind, be they wise or not ;
as the Sacred Singer saith, " Under-
stand this, ye who are ignorant in
the nation. Ye fools, when will ye
become wise ? He who planted the
ear shall he not hear ? He who shaped
the eye shall he not see ? (Psalm xciv.
8.) To these twofold attributes, the
poet-king alludes when he praises
the Lord, and sings, " Praise the
Lord, O my soul ; all my inward
parts, his holy name. Praise the
Lord, O my soul, forget not all his
manifold bounties!" (Psalm ciii. 1,
2.) Respecting the first order of
attributes, he is brief. He compre-
hends them not, and therefore pre-
sumes but to allude to them ; and
saith, " His holy name," as that
name is essential to Him, (blessed be
He ! ) — no mortal dares enlarge
on this subject — and what little he
does utter, he must understand ne-
gatively. And therefore the Singer
calls upon his inward parts to praise
the holy name of God, because the
tongue cannot give proper utterance
to that name. Respecting the se-
cond order of attributes, namc'y,
those which are evinced by the effects
the Deity produces ; the abundant
goodness which he ha's bestowed on
all his creatures, and the dispensa-
tion by which he governs the world,
the po. t repeats, " Praise the Lord,
O my soul ! " and adds, " Forget not
all his manifold bounties," as these
are evinced and known to us On
these attributes he enlarges, and enu-
merates among them that " He made
known his ways to Moses," (ibid. 7,)
alluding to the thirteen attributes of
mercy by which the world is govern-
ed, and which were revealed to
Moses. — This is, also, expressed in
the triumphal song of Moses. He
likewise repeats, " Who among the
mighty is like unto thee, O Lord ?
Who is like unto thee exalted in ho-
liness ? awful in praise, worker of
wonders!" (Exodus xv. 11.) The first
order of attributes he alludes to where
Moses says, " awful in praise," means

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

lhat he is struck with awe, and fear.s
to praise ; but respecting the second
onl.-r of attributes, Moses exclaims,
" Worker of wonders ! Thy won-
drous works evince thy glorious at-
tributes." On these he enlarges :
"Thou stretchest forth thy right
hand. Thou leadest in thy might."
" The Lord is a Warrior." " Thy
right hand, O Lord, is exalted in
power; thy right hand crushes thy
foes ; " and so forth. And before
AJ-jses commences any of his praises,
he premises with the words n~'ti'^,
'• I will sing unto the Lord." The
words I am about to utter are but a
p etic effusion, for, in reality, I kn^w
'M words with which to utter His
B ; for " he is highly exalted ; "
."ii 1 the praises most becoming would
?>.' t> bow in silent admiration. This
is the meaning of the Psalmist, when
s, '• Silence is praise to thee,
O (rod." (Psalm Ixv. 2.) And in
the same manner our Rabbies un-
derstood this passage, when they
say, (Talmud, treatise Meyilluh, folio
tf'mm HOD, "Ths
highest seasoning to all is, silence ;
as it is said, ' Silence is praise to
thee, O God.'"

CHAPTER XXIV.

OF these two orders of attributes,
some are evinced in his works, to
which alone they appertain ; as his
mercy, graciousness, long-suffering,
an 1 many more the like. Others,
as is quite evident, are solely within
himself; such as his unity, priority,
eternity, &c. But there are some
attributes of which we are not cer-
tain whether they appertain to the
first or second order. It therefore
behoves us to endeavour to attain
some conception respecting one or
two of these last-mentioned attri-
butes, in or.ler that we may, by their
means, form some idea respecting
.those others which resemble them.

When it is said of Him, (blessed
bs HE!) " God is good," it behoves
as to consider this expression in a
twofold manner : 1. With reference to
his works. As all goodness emanates
from him, and he cannot, therefore,
possibly be other than good. And
accordingly the Psalmist saith, ''The
Lord is good to all." (Psalm cxlv. 5.)
.'.•stractedly ; in which case it

2

can only bs understood in a nega-
tive sense ; namely, that his being is
free from every thing which is not
good. This attribute of goodness,
in both its bearings, we find express-
ed in Holy Writ: "Thou art good,
O Lord, and doest good." (Psalm
cxix. 68.) The meaning is, Thou
art good, abstractedly ; and it is
known that thou art good from thy
works.

When it is said, " God is wise,"
if the expression is applied to his
works, it means, that the infinite
wisdom displayed in the various
works of creation is a positive proof
that the Creator must he all-wise.
But if the expression is applied to
him abstractedly, it must be under-
stood negatively ; namely, that there
is nothing hidden from his penetra-
tion. Which must lie the case : As
He (blessed be HE !) is a pure intel-
ligence, divested of every thing ma-
terial, it is impossible that anything
should be impenetrable to him. For
as the activity of the visual orb is
only limited by the interposition of
some material substance, as water,
dust, air, or disease, so likewise the
raind is only bounded in its scope f
by the material body. The fumes
arising from the stomach tend to
obscure tie intellect. Children who,
in their growth, possess too strong a
flo'.v of an'inal spirit*, find it more
difficult to comprehend what is
taught to them than those who are
not so abundantly gifted with fluids.
This shows us the great influence of
matter on mind, which it circum-
scribes and limits. But an absolute
intelligence may be called wise, as
nothing materiil can interpose to
prevent his universal p.netration.
And as his existence preceded all
others, and is infinite, his wisdom
must correspond with his existence.

When his volition is mentioned, if
in reference to his works, the mean-
ing is, that whatever is done in hea-
ven or on earth is so done by virtue
of his absolute will : As the Sacred
Singer saith, " Whatever the Lord
willed he effected, in the heavens
and on the earth.'' (Psalm cxxxv. 6.)
And this expression arises from our
seeing by the works of creation that
that the Creator planned them ac-
cording to his will and design, on
B 2

188

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS,

which they are dependent. In this
sense the word is frequently used in
the Sacred Scriptures. But when the
word is applied to him abstractedly,
we cannot conceive what volition is
in him, as he is eternally immutable,
and undergoes no change of pur-
pose. We must, therefore, likewise
understand it negatively : that he is
not averse to, does not forget or
abandon, his purpose : as the Psalm-
ist says, " Thy will, O Lord, is on
thy land. Thou wilt restore Jacob,
and cause him to return." (Psalm
Ixxxv. 2.) The meaning is, Thou
art not averse to, or abandonest not,
thy land or its inhabitants, and hast
not forgotten to have mercy on
them. This passage is opposed to
that other which says, " My wrath
will be kindled against him on that
day. I will abandon and hide my
face from them, and they shall be
consumed." (Deut. xxxi. I/.) There-
fore the Psalmist concludes the verse
which we quoted above, " Thou hast
recalled the whole of thy anger, and
hast renounced thy wrath which was
kindled." (Psalm Ixxxv. 4.)

When it is said, "The Lord is po-
tent," or "mighty;" if in reference
to his works, the meaning is, that
whatever he determines he can per-
form, and work his will on all his

(To be continued.)

creatures ; and no one can gainsay
or oppose him. If applied to him
abstractedly, the meaning is nega-
tive : That he is never weary or
powerless.

When it is said, "The Lord liveth;"
if in reference to his works, the
meaning is, all life emanates from
him, therefore he must be alive ; as
without him there could be no life.
If applied to him abstractedly, we
must understand it negatively. What
emanates from him does not emanate
involuntarily and without his know-
ledge, as heat from fire, or light
from flame ; but whatever ema-
nates from him is with free will and
intention ; that he knows, wills, and
intends like a perfect and animate
being.

This is a subject so very delicate
and sublime, that we cannot find any
words properly to convey our mean-
ing, and can only say, His power is
unlimited, and he does not^vveary in
emanating. He wills, that is to say,
is not averse, does not cease or for-
get, to emanate. He knows, that is
to say, nothing is hidden from him
of all he emanates. For all these
reasons we say, " The Lord Jiveth ;"
and we express his all-perfection by
saying that he is free from every im-
perfection.

IV. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. III.

(Continued from page 166.)

SUCH being the intentions of the
compiler, he divided his work, the
Mishna, into six tD'IID, sedarim, or
series. The first, called tZPjnt, " of
seeds," treats of agricultural laws :
Such as, t^N^O, the prohibition of
using mingled seeds ; Wattf, the
septennial agrarian rest ; H?"!}?, the
triennial interdict of the fruits of
newly planted trees; molin, legal
oblations to the priests; mlU^n,
tithes, and all other donations
ordained by law. The second series,
called "line, "of times or feasts,"
treats of the sabbath and the annual
festivals and holy days, the duties of
their observance, and the various
enactments and prohibitions there-

unto appertaining. The third series,
called tPttfJ, "of women," treats of
the intercourse between the sexes ;
of husband and wife ; of ny^n, and
CD11'', the duties of the brother-in-
law towards his widowed and child-
less sister-in-law, the rite of untying
the shoe ; &c. ; (vide Deut. xxiv. 5 ;)
niiriD, dowry, and marriage settle-
ments ; punip, espousals; ptD'O,
divorces ; and all the laws to these
subjects respectively appertaining.
The fourth series, pp>n, "of da-
mages," treats of the laws of pro-
perty, (movable as well as immova-
ble,) and of co_mmerce. The fifth
series, t^tt^p, " of what is sacred,"
treats of sacrifices and their laws.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBIXICAL -WRITERS.

189

The sixth series, mintD, "of pure-
ness," treats of the laws of pure-
ness, legal cleanness, positively and
negatively.

The reason of the order in which
these series succeed each other is as
follows : The agricultural laws are
first treated of, because they relate to
what is principally necessary to the
preservation of man, who, without
food, -could not serve his Creator.
The festivals are next introduced,
according to the order laid down in
the law, which treats first of the
agrarian rest, and next of the sabbath
and annual festivals. In like man-
ner, he placed the laws relating to
the intercourse of the sexes previous
to those of damages, according tib
the order laid down in the law" ;
(Exodus xxi. 7, 12 ;) where the
rights of the woman take precedence
of the law v/hich awards damages.
The laws relating to these four series
are mentioned in the second book
of Moses; (Exodus;) and, having
introduced them in due order, the
compiler next proceeds to those laws
which are contained in the third
book, (Leviticus,) according to the
order there observed.

Each of these six series is subdi-
vided in'o mn-~*2, mesichtoth, or
" treatises," which again are por-
tioned out into tD'p^lQ, perakim,
" chapters," and these lastly are ar-
ranged into rnVpn, halachoth, "de-
cisions." This methodical arrange-
ment is adopted in orrler to facilitate
the acquiring of the book by heart,
and that the memory maybe able to
retain its contents.

The first series commences with
i.atise r^.~~2, berackoth, or
" blessings ;" because it is not per-
mitted to enjoy the gifts of provi-
dence without previously blessing or
ing tiie Divine Giver. And
as the daily duty most imperative
won the Israelite is i*Dttf JVIp, the
kriath sbmang, or, "the confession
of his faith," the treatise opens with
that important subject. The com-
piler next proceeds in due order with
the agricultural laws. The second
treatise is nuz, peak, " the corner of
the field," as this law precedes the har-
vest-home. The third treatise 'KO-,
or "questionable oblations,"

follows next, because, like the pre-
ceding one, it stipulates in favour of
the poor. The fourth treatise,
C3 '«l> 3, klaiim, " mingled seeds," fol-
lows next, according to the order laid
down in Leviticus xix. The fifth
treatise is n^'^ty, shtingith, "the
septennial agrarian rest," although,
according to the order observed in
the law, n^i? ought to follow
~-.^72; but as the first is only a
a conditional law, and depends on
the circumstance of a man's planting
fruit-trees, whereas the septennial
rest is absolute, must be observed,
and is peculiarly and distinctly intro-
duced in the law, the compiler gives
it priority, as being the more impera-
tive. The sixth treatise is mainn,
tntmoth, " oblations ; " because these
are the first gifts of the land. Nextfol-
lows the seventh treatise, ITnttfJJD,
rnangseroth, or " tithes in general."
Then the eighth treatise, 'ittf Tttfi'D,
mangser shini, " secondary tithes,"
of corn in the grain before it is
ground. The next treatise is the
9th ; nbn, chalah, " the cake of the
first dough." (Vide Numbers xv.)
The tenth treatise is n^li?, orlah,
"the triennial interdict of the fruits
of newly panted trees : " After
which comes the eleventh treatise,
CD1")!!:!, bekurim, " first ripe fruits."
These eleven treatises form the first
1TD, sedir, or series.

The second series, "IJMD "HD, " of
times or festivals," is opened, 1. By
the treatise Jllty, Sabbath, as the
first in rank, of most frequent occur-
rence, and taking precedence, in the
law, of all other festivals. 2. The
treatise pally, Erubin, "rites pe-
culiar and relating to the observance
of th? Sabbath." 3. The treatise
QTl~2, Pesachim, "what relates to
the paschal festival ; " these being
the first commands given to Moses,
and the repetition of which immedi-
ately succeeds the Sabbath. 4. The
treatise ED^pttf, Shekalim, "of the
half shekel," as ordained by the
law, Exodus xxx. 12. 5. The trea-
tise K2V loma, or "the day," of
atonement, according to the order
laid down in the law. The compiler,
to complete the three great festivals
in the sixth treatise, returns to

190

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

, Succoth, or "tabernacles;"
and in the seventh treatise, (called
after its first word HVl, betzah,
" the egg,") in which is contained
the third great festival, niyilltt,
"the pentecost." Of all the great
festivals enumerated in the law the
only remaining one is !~OUM Wt*\
Rosh fiashanah, or " the new year,"
to which he devotes the eighth trea-
tise.

After the great festivals ordained
by the law, the compiler next notices
the fast days, (mentioned and insti-
tuted by the prophets,) in the trea-
nvnyn, Tangnioth, " fasts." The
tenth treatise is il^UD, Meyilah,
" the roll," or record relating to the
commemorative festival of Purim,
which is likewise of prophetic insti-
tution. The next or eleventh trea-
tise is flop 1i>1D, Monged Katan, or
" minor festivals." The twelfth
treatUe is il^Jh, Chachiya, "solem-
nities," i-elating to the ascent to
Jerusalem on the three principal fes-
tivals. These twelve treatises form
the second series.

The third series opens with, 1.
nicl1', Jebamoth, or " the duties* of
the brother-in law," &c. The reason
why he assigns the priority to these
laws, in preference to any other con-
jugal laws, is because all other matri-
monial contracts are voluntary,
whereas the duties of the brother
towards his widowed and childless
sister-in-law are compulsory, and the
judge constrains him either to marry
or release her. The second treatise is
mmnn, Kelhuboth, "dowries and
marriage settlements." The third,
frti, Nedarin, " vows,'' treats of the
rights of the husband to annul the
vows of the wife. The fourth trea-
tise is Vt3f Nasir, relating to him
who separates himself, as being a
branch of vows, which the husband
has likewise the right to annul. The
fifth treatise is pto^, Gitin, " di-
vorces," which dissolve the matri-
monial contract. The sixth treatise
is ntOlD, Sutah, " the suspected," as
being connected with divorce, which
must ensue if the suspicion is proved
to be well-founded. The seventh trea-
tise ispunip, KediisJiin, "espousals."
It may be asked,/' Why does this trea-

tise close the series, and why is not
that precedence given to it before the
preceding four, which, in the order of
time, is its due ? " The reason is,
that the words of the law con-
vey this order. " He shall write to
her a letter of divorce, which he
shall put in her hand : She shall
leave his house, and go, and become
the wife of another man." (Deutero-
nomy xxiv. 1, 2.) These two sen-
tences, "leave his house," "and go,
and become," &c., are cited in the
Talmud, (treatise Kedushin ., f olio 5 1 ,)
and from them, on the authority of
tradition, they deduce that the matri-
monial compact is like its dissolu-
tion ; and they therefore preserve the
order which in these verses of scrip-
ture is laid down. These seven trea-
tises complete the third series.

The fourth series is, at its open-
ing, divided into three parts, which
together form the first treatise.
These are, (1.) «Dp Kin, Babah
Kainah, "the first part, "which treatsjof
damages caused by an animal, by tres-
pass, incendiarism, assault, and bat-
tery. This part of the treatise opens
the series in order to point out the
laws relating to such wrongs and
injuries as are of most frequent oc-
currence, and which it is the first
duty of the judge to enforce. (2.)
Ki^VD Kin, Baba Meziah, "the
middle part," treats of claims
resulting from trusts ; such as gra-
tuitous trust and salary, gratuitous
loan of things and hire, according to
the order laid down in Exodus xxi.
(3.) K"ini Kll, Baba Bathra, " the
last part," treats of the partition of
immovables, laws of tenantcy, joint
occupation, and rights of common;
laws of purchase and sale, defects
which annul a purchase, what con-
stitutes a sale, and what a guaran-
tee, with laws of succession and in-
heritance. These laws form the last
of the three parts, as not being laid
down in the law of Moses, but are
partly traditional, and in part sub-
sequently adopted, as founded on
logical deduction. 2. The next trea-
tise is pTlHJD, Sanhedrin. Having
first treated of laws, he next epeaks
of the tribunals that are to adminis-
ter these laws. 3. The next treatise
is mro, Makoth, "scourging," and

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

191

treats of corporeal punishments,
which can only be inflicted by com-
mand of a competent tribunal ; (vide
Deut. xxv. ;) and, therefore, this
treatise is the next in order to that
which enumerates the functions of
the tribunal. 4. This treatise is
myiltP, Schvungolk, "oaths," con-
cerning the oaths to be administered ;
a subject in close connexion with the
preceding. 5. The fifth treatise is
n Viy, Edioth, or " witnesses," con-
:erning the laws' . evidence; like-
wise in absolute connexion with the
idministration of justice. 6. The
next treatise is PP1 mil)?, Angvodah
Sara, " strange or idolatrous wor-
ship:" The punishment is part of the
functions with which the tribunalis in-
vested, and thelaws concerning which
come under its immediate cognizance.
And this subject is placed last in the
series, as being of most rare occur-
rence. 7- Having thus concluded
the subjects relating to jurispru-
dence, the compiler proceeds to com-
prise in this series the seventh trea-
tise Dim, Aboth, " the ethics of the
fathers ; " containing the order of
tradition, and the maxims of the
elder Rabbies. Tue causes which
led to the placing of this treatise at
the close of the fourth series are
twofold: (1-) To point out the
authority and precision of the chain
of traditions, and the dignity of those
by whom they were transmitted,
each of whom was the first in his
respective age, and, therefore, equal
to prophets. Jfo that no man may
say, " Why shall I submit to, or
adopt, the decisions of this particular
judge or tribunal? " as the decision is
not that of the particular judge before
whom he stands, but of the law, trans-
mitted and preserved by the chiefs of
Israel. (2.) Because the ethic pre-
cepts which this treatise contains are
of even greater importance to the
judge than to any other individual ;
as the latter, by transgressing, chiefly
injures himself ; whereas, the former
injures the whole community over
which he presides. Accordingly,
several of the moral precepts in this
treatise are only adapted for judges :
As, for instance, " Consider maturely
before you pronounce sentence ; " and
many more of a similar import. 8.
The eighth and last treatise is

MVTin, horioth, or "decisions," the
manner of pronouncing sentence, and
other matters relating to judges and
their functions. Thus the number
of treatises comprised in this series
is eight.

The fifth series opens with CD TOT
Sebachim, " sacrifices," and treats of
all manner of offerings and sacrifices.
The second treatise isninio, Mina-
cJioth, " meat-offerings," relating to
those offerings of flour which are
called by that name. The third
treatise is pbin, Chulin, or " not sa-
cred," and relates to the slaughtering
of animals for general use. The
fourth treatise is m^irS, Bechorotk,
"the first born," and the laws relat-
ing to them. The fifth treatise is D'SIV,
Erachim " valuation," and relates to
the estimated valuations which are
by vow consecrated to the Divine
worship. The sixth treatise is rmcn,
Tamurah, " commutation," respect-
ing such objects as have been conse-
crated by vow. The seventh treatise
is mrv^S, Kerithoth, " cut off/'' cr
prohibitions, the infringement of
which is punished by the Deity, in
the words of Scripture, " He shall
be cut o/Tfrom amidst his people."
This subject is added to the former,
because those crimes the wanton
commission of which is punished as
aforesaid, are, if accidentally or un-
wittingly committed, expiated by a
sin-offering ; and therefore this sub-
ject is connected \\ ith sacrifices.
The eighth treatise is fti^yo, A/CH-
gilah, " what has been profaned,*'
relating to things that have been
consecrated, but have subsequently
become desecrated. The next trea-
tise is "PCM, Tamid, or "constant
offerings," and narrates the manner
in which the sacrifices were offered
in the temple, in order to preserve
the remembrance of them. The
tenth treatise is filTO, Midoth,
" measurement," containing an ac-
count of the temple, its construction
and proportions ; in order that they,
too, may be preserved from oblivion,
and copied at such future time in
which it pleases an All-merciful
Providence to permit us to rebuild
our temple. (May it be speedily and
in our days ! Amen !) For this con-
struction and these proportions were

192

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

dictated by Divine inspiration ; as it
is written, "All in writing, from the
hand of God, who caused me to un-
derstand all the workmanship of the
model." (1 Chron. xxviii. 19.) The
next treatise is tD^Jp, Kanim, "of
nests," concerning the birds for sa-
crifices. The number of treatises in
this series is eleven.

The last series commences with
the treatise Ovio, Kelim, "utensils,"
enumerating such things as are sus-
ceptible of imbibing impurity, and
such others as are not possessed of
that susceptibility. The second trea-
tise is Mlb'nN, Aholoth, " tents," and
treats of the impurity of a corpse,
which infects every thing that is in
the same habitation. And this sub-
ject takes precedence over all other
species of infecting impurity, because
it is the most powerful and of most
frequent occurrence. The third
treatise is tD^Ji, Negangim, "con-
tagious disorders," as these likewise
pollute in a similar manner with a
corpse, not only by touch, but by
their simple presence under any roof.
The fourth treatise, rTlD, Par ah,
"heifer," relates to the means of
purification, and the commands of
the red heifer. (Vide Numbers xix.)

The fifth treatise is niinto, Taha-
roth, " cleanliness," (so called in
order to preserve propriety of ex-
pression,) which treats of the impuri-
ties of an inferior degree, which can
become purified on the same day at
sun-set. The sixth treatise, mNlpO,
Mikvaoth, " springs of water," relates
to ablutions. The seventh treatise
is mi, Nidah.* The eighth treatise
is pvu^D, Machshirin, " purify-
ing," relating to the rites of purifica-
tion. The ninth treatise is Q^5i.-f-
The tenth treatise is CDV ^'OtO, Te-
biljom, " Ablution of the same day,"
the rites of purification by ablution
on the same day. The eleventh
treatise, CD'|kT>, ladaim, "hands," re-
lates to cleanliness of hands. The
twelfth treatise is pypiy, Ukzin,
" handles," relating to those things
which convey impurity by the touch.
This series contains twelve treatises.
The number of treatises in the
whole Mishna are sixty-one ; namely,
inthe first series, eleven; in the second
series, twelve : in the third series,
seven ; in the fourth series, eight ;
in the fifth series, eleven ; and in the
sixth series, twelve.

* Levit. xv. 2—18. t Levit. xix. 19—33.

(To be continued.)

"SlR,

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

"THE question raised by your Correspondent, 'B. E.,' is certainly a
curious one, and the only way I can suggest to meet the difficulty, is to sup-
pose the copy from which the LXX translated, and which Josephus read, had
~P1D instead of V15; for they have translated the former word, in several
places, by ir^ap, as your Correspondent justly observes they have done the
latter in the passage to which he refers; Exodus xxix. 13; Prov. vii. 23 ;
Gen. xlix. 6, and many others. See also Professor Hurwitz's note on Gen.
xlix. 6, in his Interlinear Translation.

"If V15 be the right reading, I can find no better translation than that of
Parkhurst : * And she put the network of goat's hair before its ' (the Te-
raphim's) ' pillows.' The design was to show there was a person under the
bed-clothes, and to hide the face by the network of goat's hair, which fell
from a canopy just before the pillows.

" With many thanks for your interesting publication, I am, Sir,
" Your obedient servant,

" Frederick-street, Dec. 10th, 1834. J. S."

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWEXTY-FOURTH DAY OF KISI.EV, 5595.
FRIDAY, DECEMHEH 26, 1834.

NO. 13.

I. THE MISHXA.
"", Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHEKS."

'". COMMENTS BY XAPHTALI HIRTS WES3ELY.

I. THF.V laid down three maxims : " 1. Be deliberate in your decisions. 2. Raise many
disciples. 3. Construct a fence round the Law." — (Mes. Ab. cap i. 1.)
(Continued from page 164.)

COMMENTARY. They laid down
three maxims — When they discovered
that the Spirit of prophecy was de-
parted from Israel, and that mental
capacities had decreased, they recom-
mended, to the careful observance of
the Leaders who should preside over
the succeeding generations of Israel,
three maxims, one of which re-
lates to the law, a second to wor-
ship, and the third to practical bene-
volence, as they here follow : —

Be deliberate in your decisions —
Such decisionsas are to settle the ques-
tions of right, which two contending
individuals bring before your tri-
bunal. The Spirit of prophecy with
which the Judges of Israel had till
then been gifted, had enabled them at
once to discover the truth of such
allegations as were submitted to their
judicial decision. But as this means
of detecting truth and falsehood had
ceased, it became the duty of the
Judges, in addition to a perfect
knowledge of the law, to call to their
aid deep penetration and mature
reflective deliberation ; as Solomon
prayed, in reply to the Divine offer,
" Ask, what shall I grant to thee : "
" Give unto thy servant a heart of
understanding, to judge thy people,
and to distinguish wrong from right :
For who can presume to judge this
thy mighty people ? " (1 Kings iii. 90
This maxim, which taught the Judges
carefully to preserve the rights of
individuals, and not to lessen the
sacred dignity of justice by impa-
tience, or want of due deliberation,
was a lesson of practical benevo-
lence, the more important, as the

2 c

bond of the social state is justice,
alike essential to high and low.

Raise many disciples — As, till then,
every generation in Israel had for-
tunately possessed Prophets distin-
guished by the Divine inspiration,
no fear could be entertained that the
law and its precepts might be for-
gotten ; for they were at once pointed
out as pre-eminent, and worthy of
having the whole law transmitted to
them. But as men distinguished by
the Deity, and prophetically inspired,
were no longer to be found in Israel,
the men of the Great Assembly im-
pressed the duty on succeeding
Teachers, to instruct numerous disci-
ples : So that, although not any one
of those disciples might be capable
to retain the whole of the law, yet
many of them would, by each retain-
ing a portion, together retain the
whole. This precept, then, was
intended to preserve the knowledge
of the law, by disseminating it among
the many, and thus rendering it, to
a certain extent, general in Israel.

Construct a fence round the law —
This is an exhortation, to succeeding
Leaders of Israel, to watch over the
purity of the law and faith, and from
time to time to enact such ordi-
nances for its better observance as
they might think needful. The
words " fence," and "ordinances,"
are used with a twofold intention.
The first is to ensure a perfect ob-
servance of the law, for which pur-
pose certain things that in them-
selves are lawful, become prohibited,
in order by that means to secure and
enforce the due observance of certain

194

THE MISHNA.

other things, that in themselves are
actually unlawful. This was done
ever since the days of Moses, as we
find, in manifold instances, that
Moses, David, and Solomon, and
the assessors <ff their tribunals, en-
acted certain ordinances, to prevent
the possible infraction of the law.
The second intention is, to maintain
the purity of faith, and to prevent
heresies and schisms. The men of
the Great Assembly beheld the ex-
tension of the Grecian conquest and
domination, under Alexander the
Great and his successors ; and per-
ceived that the Jews would, from
their subjugated condition, be ex-
posed to frequent intercourse with
the Greeks, and to the danger of
becoming infected with the perni-
cious spirit of infidelity that per-
vaded the different systems of Greek
philosophy, then in their zenith, and
that among Israel no man was then
found who might stem the torrent of
infidelity, as Elijah did on Mount
Carmel, and as Elisha had frequently

done. The dangers which the men
of the Great Assembly foresaw, from
the intercourse of the Israelites with
their corrupt and infidel rulers, actu-
ally became realized ; as many Jews
imbibed the destructive principles of
the Greek philosophy and atheism,
and abandoned their faith, until An-
tiochus became the instrument of the
Divine wrath, and by his cruelty
recalled the nation to a sense of what
was due to their holy law. The men
of the Great Assembly, therefore,
considered it their duty to bequeath
to their successors the counsel to
watch over the purity of the faith.
And, as all Divine worship, in order
to be acceptable, must be the result
of conviction built upon faith, with-
out which it degenerates into mere
external observance, and a service of
the lips, but not of the heart,— this
their last maxim is intended to give
the Divine worship that pure sin-
cerity which is the offspring of
conviction, and rests upon faith.

II. SIMON the Ju-tvras tlie last survivor of the men of the Great Assembly. He
was in the habit of saying, " The existence of the world rests upon three things : On the
law, on worship, and on practical benevolence."

COMMENTARY. Simon the Just was
the last survivor, fyc. — He lived a
considerable time after the erection
of the second temple ; and our In-
structer tells us, that he was the last
survivor of those great men to whom
the whole law was transmitted. He
likewise was High Priest, and ad--
ministered the law to Israel during
his life-time.

He icas in the habit of saying — Ac-
cording to my opinion this Mishna
(verse ) is the fundamental key to
the whole treatise, and all the rest
is merely the commentary on this
one verse. His maxims are pre-
cisely the same three which he had
heard from his teachers and asses-
sors ; with the sole difference, that,
while they confined their advice to
the Chiefs and Leaders of Israel, he
addressed himself to the whole com-
munity. They delivered their max-
ims as a command to be obeyed ;
while he merely asserted his as an
opinion. The cause of this differ-
ence we shall hereafter explain.

The existence of the world rests
upon thn-e things — The purpose of

our Instructor is not in this place to
investigate the hidden secrets of
nature, or to enter into the fruitless
examination, why the world was at
all created ; a subject which many
philosophers made the theme of their
futile and useless researches. True
Sages, Prophets, and pious men do
not, however, give way to the in-
dulgence of so idle a curiosity ; but
rely," in fulness of faith, on Holy
Writ, and do not attempt to pene-
trate jnto mysteries beyond the
reach or grasp of human concep-
tion : According to the example of
the Sacred Singer, who, after having
mentioned the unfathomable myste-
ries- of Providence, that the righte-
ous suffers evil whilst the wicked
prospers, adds, " I am ignorant, and
know nothing : Before thee I am
but as an animal. Therefore I will
constantly keep to thee." (Psalm
Ixxiii. 22, 23.) His meaning is — To
understand and explain thy incon-
ceivable secrets, I am most ignorant ;
but my faith is perfect in thee and
thy justice; therefore Twill rely on
thee, and ever keep to thy command-

DI.MA TIC POETUY OF THE HABBIKs.

19.-,

ments. The knowledge which the the ignorant multitu k> ; but clothed
Prophets and Sages of Israel ac- th^ir < . - in that sublime

quired of the bein-i and attributes of obscurity which pure faith in God,
the Deity, they carefully preserved and perfect obedience to his Holy
trom the arrogant presumption of Word, could aloud comprehend.
(To be continued )

II. DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIES.

Bechinath Olam : " AN INVESTIGATION- INTO THE MORAL WORLD.'
(Continued from page 136 J

CHAPTER III.*

FOR man so qualified, I conceive
great trouble and vexation.

Is it meet that a beautiful piece of
sapphire, like this, should be exposed
to accidents and plagues, as a target
to the arrow?

Is it proper that he be destined to
shame and scorn, as one of the most
insignificant ?

Is it fitting that he be made to
bear burthens and contumely alike
in youth ar,d in age ?

How ! will he who (compared to a
son of God) might sit in wisdom's
seat, become solitary and silent !

Alas that the pastor of faith should
but feed on the wind ! that the pro-
moter of wisdo;n and rnoral> should
sink under his burthen !

Although relying on his under-
standing for his escape, how will he
find his wisdom fail to support him !

Depending on his integrity, how
will his hands wax feeble !

Although exposed to subversion
by worldly accidents, shall man,
like the animals of the field and
beasts of the forest, die, and be no
more ?

Will this precious and sacred stone
be assimilated with clods of earth,
and cast into the shades of obli-
vion ?

Shall this body, adorned with the
Divine figure, be by God condemned
to dwell in eternal darkness?

The reflection distracts me, and I
become inconsolable, that the noble
work of God shall, at its return, b^
thus vilely annihilated ! that the
cedar, planted by the hand of the
Deity, .shall thus pass under the
axe !

* The Author here exclaims agai;.-
idia of the annihilation of death TRANS-
LATOR.

2 c

I contemplate man, I examine his
formation, and find no imperfection,
but such a death.

CHAPTER IV.*

BUT nature, through the wisdom
of its Creator, has prepared within
us a source of et-rnal life, and left
to us the blessed consolation of a
residuary immortal sou!.

It is this which enables us to
be comforted amidst the works of
vanity, and the sadness of depriva-
tion.

For, lo ! eternal salvation awaits
us in the palace of the Great 1

Wherefo: e then, O -
shouldst ihou lament at being here
allotted to the grave, when thou hast
a hope to enjoy a sent in the Divine
residence calm an i s.rene ? And
why regret to deposit thy accoutre-
ments here ?

Ranked with the inhabitants of the
higher regions, what ailrili th o in
leaving this base and lo..

Nay, even the luxuries < 1
world, which thou seekest,
proved thorns aad briers unto thee :

From the day that the Lord
thought fit to regard the earth and to
enclose in one of its clods the living
soul, that it should be formed into
man, behold they have lain in wait
for his destruction and become his
confounders.

Desires prove obnubilators ;
bright armour, sackcloth : .1
briers ; and roses, thorns : Proud
passions are Llazing flames ; and
glittering gold, a gaudy papilio.
Nay, all the pleasures of men are de-
mons in disguise. f

* The Author here expatiav- on the im-
mortality of the soul and a t\.
TRANS."

t The#e auti'Jii riral • - have

2

106

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

Yet wouldst thou seek delights
like these ? Ah no, desire them not !

Neither onghtest thou to do other-
wise in thy conduct with regard to
time, than thou wouldest act with a
perverse and wrong-headed com-
panion ; regarding him in proportion
to his merits, and contemning him
in proportion to his extravagancies.

Be content with the little to be
enjoyed from it, and shut the eyes

of thy understanding from regard-
ing what it may fail to make perfect,
or what may prove to be injurious :

For thine association with time
passeth away more rapidly than the
evening twilight ; and thou art like
the child who endeavours to collect
a handful of the sun's rays, but who
stands astonished, on opening his
hand, to find nothing within it.

(To be continued.)

III.

DlDl!?

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

Schmonah Perakim Lerrcr.bam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

BY MAIMONIDES.

(Continued from page 176.)

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE OBSTRUCTIONS WHICH IM-
PEDE THE ACQUIRING A TRUE
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

THE doctrines of the Rabbies
as contained i:i sermons, orations,
and the Talmud, teach us that
some of the Prophets experienced
less obstruction in contemplating the
Deity than others did ; and that these
relative degrees of greater and less
obstruction corresponded with the
greater or less degrees in which they
approximated to the Deity according
to their respective merits, which re-
gulated their prophetic inspiration.
Thus the Rabbies allegorically say,
"Moses, our Teacher (peace be with
him !) saw the Holy One (blessed be
HE!) obstructed only by a transparent
partition, as we see through glass or
chrystal." In accordance with what
we stated in our second chapter, per-
fections are either mental or moral.
Such are likewise our imperfections :
Mental, as folly, want of reason and
of understanding : moral, as lust,
pride, arrogance, wrath, avarice, and
many others of the like kind. These
defects form so many partitions which
impede and obstruct the approach of

which consists of single words nearly simi-
lar in form and sound : It is only in conse-
quence or having laboured throughout to re-
tain the style and manner of the Author,
that I have ventured thus to imitate the
original, however quaint this passage may
appear, for which I have to crave the read-
er's indulgence. — TRANS.

man towards the Deity, as the Pro-
phet saith, " Your sins have formed
a separation between you and your
God ; " (Isaiah lix. 2 ; ) which
means that our evil qualities obstruct
our approach to the Deity. Know,
therefore, that the Divine inspiration
was vouchsafed unto no Prophet,
except he possessed all mental per-
fections, and the great majority of the
most important moral ones : As our
Rabbies said, " The prophetic Spirit
rests but on him who is wise, valiant,
and rich." By wise they understand
all mental perfections. Rich they
call him only who is contented : As
they say, "Who is rich ? He that
is satisfied with his lot : " That is to
say, if he can bear with his temporal
wants, and does not suffer because
he has barely wherewithal to satisfy
the cravings of nature. By valiant
they mean moral perfections, self-
command, and the sway of reason :
As they say, " Who is valiant ? He
that subdues his passions." It is not
an indispensable condition to a Pro-
phet, that he must possess every
possible moral perfection, and be
entirely free from every defect ; for
we find that King Solomon, (peace
be with him ! ) to whom Holy Writ
affords its testimony, that "the Lord
appeared to Solomon in Gibeon,"
was nevertheless subject to imperfec-
tions and frailties, such as lust and
luxury ; and we are plainly told,
that, "in all these things Solomon
sinned." Even David the King, ($f
blessed memory,) high as was his

MORALITY OF THE BABBIES.

197

prophetic character, (as he himself
says, " To me spoke the Rock of
Israel," 2 Samuel xxiii. 3,) even
David was guilty of cruelty. For,
although these acts of cruelty were
not perpetrated by himself, and were
directed only against the foes of the
Lord, while he was mild and beneficent
to Israel, yet we plainly read in Chro-
nicles xxii 8, that the Deity did not
permit him to build the temple,
because he had been instrumental in
frequently shedding human blood.
Elijah (of blessed memory ) gave way
to his anger : And although he con-
fined it to Atheists, who denied the
God of Israel, still the parable of our
Rabbies saith, "When Elijah was
translated to heaven, the Holy One
said to him, ' Thou art not adapted
to guide and govern men and be
their Priest, because thy zeal is too
fiery, and in thy ardour thou wouldst
destroy them.' " Samuel was timid,
and feared Saul. Jacob was afraid
• of Esau. All these imperfections are
so many partitions between the Pro-
phet and the Deity. Thus we say,
•' The Prophet who yields to ex-
tremes, and gives way to two or three
imperfections, is obstructed in his
contemplation of the Deity by two
or three partitions. Nor must we
feel surprised that a few imperfec-
tions lessen the degree of prophetic
inspiration ; as we find that even one
imperfection can cause it altogether
to be withdrawn. For instance,
furious anger ; for our Rabbies say,
" Whosoever becomes enraged, if he
is a Prophet, the Spirit of prophecy
departs from him," &c. The proof
they adduce is Elisha ; when he be-
came enraged, the Spirit of prophecy
left him, until his disturbed mind
was again appeased ; therefore he
said, " Now bring unto me a musi-
cian." (2 Kings iii. 15.) Or yielding
to excessive grief, as our progenitor
Jacob, (peace be with him ! ) who,
during the whole of the time he
mourned for Joseph, and lamented
his death, was abandoned by the
Holy Spirit, until he received the
intelligence that his beloved son is
still alive; as it is written, "And
the spirit of their father Jacob was
revived ;" which the Chaldee Para-
phrast renders, "_And the Holy SpL

(To be continued.}

rit rested on their father Jacob."
Moreover, our Rabbies declare,
" Prophecy rests not on idleness or
melancholy, but only on a happy dis-
position." When our Teacher Moses
(peace be with him ! ) discovered
within himself that he had surmount-
ed every obstruction, so that no par-
tition remainedjto impede his contem-
plation of the Deity, (he having at-
tained to every mental and moral
perfection,) he requested that the
Divine attributes essential to the
being of the Deity might be revealed
unto him. He therefore implored
the Lord, "Show me, I beseech thee,
thy glory." But he was told that
the granting of his petition was im-
possible, as his intellect was still
influenced by matter ; and, " Man
cannot see me and live," was the
Divine reply. Consequently the only
obstruction to impede his contemplat-
ing the essence of the Divine Being
was his own corporeal and finite
existence. This is what the Rabbies
meant by the transparent partition.
The Lord favoured Moses, inasmuch
as He (blessed be He ! ) vouchsafed
unto him a more perfect degree of
contemplation than he had previously
attained. This perfect contemplation
is called beholding the Lord face to
face. For in like manner as when a
man sees another face to face, the
features he has seenbecome imprinted
on his mind, so that he will not con-
found him whom he has seen with
others. Whereas if a man has only
seen the back of another, he may
possibly distinguish him again, but
will more probably be doubtful, and
uncertain whether he knows him.
So likewise the real conception of the
Deity is to know the essence of the
Divine Being, with which no other
being can be confounded. So that
he who attains this conception will
discover within his own soul a know-
ledge distinct from that which he
has of any other being. This exalted
degree, however, it is impossible for
mortal man to attain : As even Mo-
ses himself fell somewhat short of
it ; which is expressed in the words,
" Thou shalt see my back parts."

I intend more fully to treat this
subject in my book on prophecy.

193

IV. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES

CHAPTER XXV.

FROM the explanation which we
have thus given to the fourth branch
of the first essential principle,
(namely, that " the Deity is all-per-
fect and free from every imperfec-
tion,") it is evident, that, whatever
qualities are attributed to the Deity,
(according to the unanimous opinion
of philosophers and sage divines,)
they must be infinite both in time and
in kind, like he is himself, (blessed
be HE !) as we have already fully de-
monstrated. When we use the ex-
pression" infinite," or°" endless," in
time, we do so because language
does not furnish us with one more
appropriate : For, in reality, His
duration preceded time ; as before
creation no duration of time can
have existed with him, any more
than when creation ceases. The
meaning of this expression is there-
fore, simply, that he is without be-
ginning as without end. But when
we say "infinite" or "endless" in
kind, we prove it by asserting that
when we say " God is wise," such
wisdom must doubtless be infinite.
For as his own being is infinite, and
he knows his own being, that know-
ledge is infinite ; as whatever is finite
cannot comprehend that which is
endless. When we say, " He is
mighty," his power must be infinite.
For were his potency finite, itbecomes
possible to imagine a power exceed-
ing his ; and, in that case, he would
be less perfect than that other great-
er power which we can imagine ; and
this, in Him, would be a deficiency.
Such is likewise the case with his
goodness, and all his other attributes,
all of which are subject to the same
reasoning. Their number must like-
wise be infinite, and together forming
that which human tongue cannot de-
clare, human ear may not hear, and
human mind cannot conceive. All
these Divine qualities are comprised
in the word ZEBAOTH, "hosts;"
one of the sacred names of the Deity,
which must not be erased. (Talmud,
treatise, Berachoth, folio 32 ; and
treatise Megillah, folio 25.)

BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 188.)

What we have now asserted is con-
firmed by David when he says, in
the hundred and thirty-ninth psalm,
" O Lord, thou hast searched and
thou knowest me. Thou penetratest
my thoughts afar." Thine Omnis-
cience knows my minutest thoughts,
and penetrates the secrets of mine
inmost soul, even before they are
formed. " Ere I was shaped, thine
eyes beheld me." Thy knowledge
is not like ours, which arises newly
within us ; whereas thine is immuta-
bly eternal, without commencement.

onn nn« win ny tvcp "The

days are created, but the (perfect)
unity is not in them." Days, or
time, commenced with creation ;
whereas thou art increate and inde-
pendent of time; therefore, thy attri-
butes are likewise infinite in duration.
" How precious to me are thy
thoughts, O Lord !" Each of them
is all-perfect and infinite like thyself,
most precious, as nothing can exceed
their value. "I strive to count them,
they are numberless as the sand."
Their number, like their duration
and perfection, is unlimited. Having
thus lost himself in the contempla-
tion of the various attributes of the
Deity, he exclaims : " I awake, and
am still with thee !" When I arouse
myself from the most profound
meditation of thy attributes, I am
still with thee ; for thy goodness, thy
wisdom, and thy power are thyself.
In this sense the sage Cabbalists
usually call the Deity f^pD pw,
"THE ENDLESS," in order to express
the infinite duration, perfection, ard
countless number of his attributes.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE word 111"), " blessed," has a
twofold meaning. It is said of him
who receives a good wish and a gift
from another ; as, " Do not curse
the people, for it is blessed." (Numb.
xxv. 11.) "Blessed shall thou be
in the city, and blessed shalt thou be
in the field." (Deut. xxviii. 7.) JMany
other similar inscances may be point-
ed out. It is likewise said of him
who bestows a good wish and gift
on another, as " Blessed is the Lord

METAPHYSICS AXD PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

199

my Rock, who taught my hands to
combat." (Psalm cxliv. 1.) "Blessed
art thou, O Lord ! teach me thy sta-
tutes." (Psalm cxix. 12.) "Many
other examples might be adduced.
The substantive r>2~-, "blessing,"
means an addition and increase of
good wishes and gifts. When it is
applied to him who receives, the
meaning is either that he is already
increasing, or that he may increase ;
but when it is applied to him who
bestows, it is an attribute, like mer-
ciful and gracious, or any other of
the like kind. The word "blessing" *
itself comprises every possible species
of felicity that can fall to the lot of
any one. And as He, from whom
every possible felicity emanates, does
not impart the same from innate ne-
cessity, as fire imparts heat, or as a
blaze gives light, but bestows it ac-
cording to his free will and settled
intention, the word^n^, or " blessed,"
is used to denote the perfection of
grace, mercy, power, free will, and
intention, which he evinces towards
his creatures, on whom the fulness
of his bounty is bestowed. For the
same cause, thi> word is used in re-
ference to the Deity, not only in the
prayers contained in Holy Writ, but
also in the Liturgy which the men of
the Great Assembly composed, as
most appropriate to express the
praises of the Deity ; this is likewise
the meaning of the Sacrsd Singer in
the cxlv. Psalm : " I will exalt thee,
i )d and King"! I will bless thy
na:r.e for ever and ever ! Each day
will I bless thee ; and I will praise thy
everlastingly. Great is the
Lord and most praiseworthy : His
greatness is incomprehensible. Suc-
ceeding generations praise thy works,
and declare thy might." (Verses
1-4.) " All thy works thank thee,

0 Lord ; And thy pious ones bl^.ss
thee." (Verse 10.) His meanin-fis,

1 would praise thee, my God ! But
even if I could bless thy name for
ever and ever, — which my finite ex-
istence does not permit me to do, —
even then were I each day to bless
thee, yet would it be insufficient to
e v- thee the praise due to thy per-
: •'.$ : " Fur the Lord is great,
and most praiseworthy : His great-

* Vide Hebrew Review, page 9,".

ness is inconceivable ; " because his
attributes are infinite. Consequently,
we are not able to praise thee and thy
essence ; but we see thy wondrous
works, and from them we learn to
praise thee, and to say, " How won-
drous is thy goodness, O Lord !
Succeeding generations praise thy
works." The Singer continues to
mention some of the Divine attri-
butes, as glory, power, greatness,
goodness, justice, mercy, grace,
long-suffering, and pity; and then
exclaims, " All thy works in gene-
ral are bound to thank thee : But
those who are pious," — who con-
template thy excellence, — " they
bless thee in a manner worthy of
their faith." This last verse of the
psalm denotes, that the Deity com-
prises within himself every perfec-
tion and felicity, that he bestows
his bounty on others, and that the
word IT::, " blessed," is the compre-
hensive term by which we endea-
vour, in some measure, to express
the fulness of his bounty.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE worJj-i^tf, " truth " or "faith-
fulness," is used to express the per-
fect accordance between the out-
ward reality, the inward thought,
and its utterance with the lips : but
when the outward reality differs
from the inward thought, and that
to which the lips give utterance, it is
__.,. "untruth" or "falsehood;"'
as, Reuben saw Levi commit mur-
der, but mistook his person for that
of Simeon, and gave evidence ac-
cordingly. Here the inward thought
of Reuben is in accordance with
the utterance of his lips ; but it
differs from the outward reality, and
is therefore an untruth or a false-
hood. But had his evidence been,
that Levi committed the murder —
which was actually true ; — (wherea-*,
the impression on Reuben's mind
was that Simeon actually committed
the murder ;) in that case his evidence,
though true as to the outward reality,
is -',-, a wilful lie, because it is con-
trary to his own inward thoughts. But
if the utterance of the lips is contrary
to the outward reality and the inward
thought, in that case such uferance
is both -1:7^ and ^72, "a falsehood
and a lie " at once : Whereas the

200

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE8.

perfect accordance of outward reali-
ty, inward thought, and utterance of
the lips is nDN " truth."

This definition proves that the ap-
pellation "BEING" can, in perfect
' truth, not be justly applied to any
existing object whatever, save and ex-
cept to the Deity alone. For as every
other object islimited in duration, that
which we call "Being" was not in ex-
istence until a certain period, and
will not be after a certain other peri-
od ; and the consequence is, that, in
using this word, our inward thought
and the utterance of our lips
are at variance with the outward
reality. But as the Deity was, is,
and ever will be eternally immuta-
ble, he alone -can truly be called
"BEING;" as the inward thought
and the utterance of the lips are
thus in perfect accordance with the
outward reality. Another reason
why this word " Being " can, in
truth, be applied to him only, is,
that every object is dependent on
him, and has but a possible or con-
ditional existence : Whereas his be-
ing is inherent, absolute, and uncon-
ditional. This is the meaning of
our Rabbles when they say, " The
seal of the Holy One is truth ;" (Tal-
mud, treatise Sabbath, folio 85 ;
Sanhedrin, folio 64 ;) because in his
Being alone perfect truth is centred.
Nor can this be said of any one of
the separate intelligences, as these
are created by, and dependent on,
him. To this an allusion is made
in the first revelation to Moses,
when he asks : " They will say to
me, What is his name ? and what am
I to say to them?" (Exodus iii.
13.) Moses required the assurance
that the revelation afforded to him
is that of the First Great Cause, and
not that of any created intelligence ;
as, in the latter case, he was fearful
that the will and assurance of such
created intelligence might be over-
ruled by the First Great Cause, on
whom he is dependent. Accordingly
the reply he received was, "ittfH nTlN
iT>i-[K, " I am who I am ;" words
which, in Hebrew, at once express
the present and the future. And
the meaning is, I am the Being
whose existence is inherent, abso-
lute, and unconditional, and whose

promise none other can gainsay or
over-rule. " I am because I am ;"
namely, I am dependent on myself
alone, and do not exist as a conse-
quence of any other existing being.
The word now, "truth," is there-
fore not a particular attribute, but it
serves to explain the unconditional
existence of the Deity, and is there-
fore most justly assigned" to God,
to whom it is more appropriate
than any other appellation which
we can give him. Accordingly we
find that the prophet Jeremiah
uses the word " truth," as more
fully descriptive of the Deity than
any other of his attributes : " The
Lord God is truth ; he is the Living
God and King of the universe."
(Jeremiah ii. 1.) In these words he
shows us the difference between the
attribute TRUTH, and those other at-
tributes, as " living," " king," &c.,
which are assigned to the Deity.
For the word wn, " He," is used in
Holy Writ to express special iden-
tity, and to avoid our mistaking one
Being for another : tynitWJN Win,
" He is Ahasuerus, who reigned
from Hodu unto Cush." (Esther i.
1.) tDTlNI \m Min, "He is Dathan
and Abiram." (Numbers xxvi. 8.)
mirai pfiN HIM, " He is Aaron and
Moses." (Exodus vi. 26.) In all
these instances the word "He" is
used to certify the identity of the
persons in question. And as the
word " truth " cannot be justly ap-
plied to any other Being than
God, the word " He " is not placed
before " truth " which is peculi-
arly his own; but before "living
and King," names which, though
applied to him, may likewise be given
to others, and which therefore re-
quire that their identity with the
Lord God should he expressed. And
as the due understanding of the Di-
vine truth is more profound than
that of any other attribute, Daniel,
in his prayer, saith, " We have not
sought the presence of the Lord our
God, to repent of our sins, and to
search into thy truth." (Daniel ix.
12.) This search into his truth de-
notes the due understanding of this
one essential principle, that the
Deity is inherent, absolute, and un-
conditional. For this reason our

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RA8BIE3.

•201

Legislator of remote antiqiiity as-
serts, " Truth is God ; " and it is
singular that the word n^tf, " truth,"
is composed of the first, the last, and
the central letter of the Hebrew al-
phabet ; and therefore symbolic of
that Beinj who is pa*t, -present, and
to come, and whose seal it is em-
phatically said to be. The reason
why we have not enumerated "truth '
as one of the branches resulting
from the first essential principle,
("the existence of the Deity,") in
the same manuer as we specified his
Unity, is, because this word explains
the existence of the Deity, and
would only in different words be a
repetition of the first essential prin-
ciple which we have laid down.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE holy name of Tetragrammaton
("four letters") is caile i •j.""£T~ — -',
" the peculiar name ; " by which is
meant the name specially belonging
to and distinctive of the Deity. The
word ti*— '2 is generally used to desig-
nate that which is separated or distinct
frocn others; as "•;:••" " phari-
sees," those who were separated and
distinct from the bulk of the people.
In this sense our Rabbies in Sephri
and in the Talmud, (treatise Sotah,
folio 31,) comment on the words,
" Thus shall ye bless the children. (Num-
bers vii. 25 — 27.) Ye shall bless
them in the peculiar name of the
Deity. Should any one assert that
the blessing was to be pronounced
in any other of the names ascribed
to the Deity, Holy Writ tells him,
' They shall pronounce MY name
over the children of Israel ; my
name, which is peculiar to myself
alone.' " Thus they prove that this
peculiar name appertains solely to
God, as all other appellations
that we use towards the Deity may
likewise be applied to created be-
ings ; for the latter only imply his
works, or some one or other of his
attributes, but do not express his
inherent, absolute, and uncondi-
tional existence Thus ~v; ~n Elo
him, (usually rendered " God,") de-
notes power, and is likewise ap-
plied to created beings ; as angels
and judges can have the same
name applied to them. ":~s, Adonai,
" Lord," only expresses dominion,

and is in the' same sense applied
to .created beings. Such is also
the case with other names by which
we call the Deity, and which are
likewise applied to other beings
either directly or in their derivatives.
For instance, "foot "is a part of
the human or animal body : This is
its first and simple meaning : But it
is also used to express-the supporters
of a chair, and in tjie same sense it
is likewise applied to other objects.
But the '/ et ragrammaton cannot
justly be applied to any other being
but the Holy One, (blessed be HE !)
as it expresses his inherent, abso-
lute, and unconditional existence.
: :heless, even this most sacred
name we find bestowed by derivation
on a being external to Him: " And
the Lord went before them in1 the
pillar of the cloud by day to guide
them on the road." (Exodus xiii. 21.)
And subsequently we read: "And
the angel of God, who went before
the camp of Israel, moved and went
behind them; and the pillar of the
cloud moved from before them and
stayed behind them." (Exod. xiv. 20.)
Names are by derivation, or in a se-
condary sense, applied to objects,
which bear some degree of resem-
blance, however distant, to the first
sense, or which recal to the
mind that first sense. Thus, the
sight of any utensil recals its owner
to the mind : Holy Writ says,
" They shall serve the Lord their
God, and David their King, whom I
will raise to them." As his future
kingdom will in its grandeur and ex-
altation resemble the glorious days
of David, it is called by his name.
Such is likewise this expression,
" And my servant David shall be
their king." (Ezekiel xxxvii. 24.)
" And my servant David shall be
their prince for ever." (ibid. 25J In
all these places, although the name
of David is expressly u?ed, the
meaning is, one of his descendants.
In like manner Holy Writ' calls the
ark of the covenant by the name of
the Lord ; because it was an utensil
appropriated to contain the tables of
the law given by the Lord, as we
find, when the ark moved, Moses
said, " Arise, O Lord," &c., and
when it rested, Moses said, " Rest,
O Lord, amidst the tens of thou-

2 D

202

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

sands of Israel." (Numbers x. 35.)
Joshua likewise saith, " The ark of
the covenant, Lord of the universe,
passes before you into the Jordan."
(Joshua iii. li.) Truly the ark of
the covenant is not Lord of the
universe ; but it is called by that
name, because it was destined to the
worship of the Universal Lord God,
whose sacred presence it recalled to
the mind. Thus the effect of the
operator is sometimes assigned to
the instrument with which he ope-
rates, we say, " The eye sees ; "
' The ear hears ; " although it is not
either of these organs that by itself
performs these functions : But it is
the soul, of which they are the sub-
servient instruments. For these two
reasons Moses called the altar which
;he erected *D3 " n " The Lord, my
miracle;" (Exodus xvii. 16 ;) be-
cause this altar was an instrument
wherewith to work wonders, and re-
calls to mind the Lord, the sole
power, who performeth miracles. In
a similar way, Holy Writ calls the
Messiah, " the Lord our righteous-
ness ; " (Jeremiah xxiii. 6;) because
he will be the means, that we may
through him attain the righteousness
of the Lord. Jeru-alem is likewise
called, nsttt " n/' The Lord is there;"
(Ezekiel xlv. 35 ;) because it was the
place where the divine glory was more
constantly visible than at any other
place. Again : Abraham called the
place where he was about to sacrifice
his son, " The Lord seeth;" (Gene-
sis xxii. 14 ; ) because an event there
took place which evinced the Divine
Providence. Holy Writ also calls
the visible manifestation of the
Divine glory, seen in prophetic
visions, " The Lord : " " And the
Lord saw that he turned aside to
look, &c. And the Lord said, I
have seen and beheld the misery of
my people in Egypt." (Exodus iii. 1.)
" I saw the Lord sitting on a lofty and
exalted throne." (Isaiah vi. 1.) " It is
likewise caller), "The God of Is-
rael ; " as, "They saw the God of Is-
rae! ; " (Exodus xxiv. 10 ;) ahhough
He (blessed be HE ! ) can neither be
seen nor comprehended by any cre-
ated being ; as it is expressly de-
clared, " No man can see me and
live." (Exodus xxxiii. 20.) — Thus
ths Sieivl Scriptures bestow the

name, " The Lord," on angels : As,
" And the Lord turned to him and
said, Thou shalt go in this thy might,
&c. And the Lord said to him,
Because I will be with thee ; "
(Judges vi. 14 ; ) though the reve-
lation to Gideon was that of an
angel or Divine Messenger only.
The name TOD, " glory," is likewise
given to many different beings : As,
we find it applied to that Divine
Presence which no man can behold :
As Moses, when he prayed, " I be-
seech thee, shew me thy glory,"
was answered, "Thou canst not see
my face." (Exodus xxxiii. 18.) And
in another place we find the same
name given to the visible manifesta-
tion of the Divine Presence : " And
the glory of the Lord appeared to
the whole nation." (Leviticus xv. 22.)
" And the appearance of the glory
of the Lord was like a consuming
fire, at the top of the Mount."
(Exodus xxiv. 13.) "To-morrow
ye shall behold the glory of the
Lord." (Exodus xvi. 7.) The rea-
son why this visible manifestation is
called " the glory of the Lord," is
because it represents to our minds
the invisible and inconceivable glory
of the Most High ; and, therefore,
the Prophets presumed to consider
and to call that manifestation'of the
Divine Will, which in their visions
was revealed unto them, "The
Lord." Elijah addresses the angel
who revealed himself to him, in these
words : " The children of Israel have
abandoned thy covenant, \tfiy altars
they have destroyed, and thy pro-
phets they have slain with the
sword : " And the answer given to
him was : "Go and stand forth on
the mount before the Lord." (1 Kings
xix. 11.) The speaker does not say,
" Stand forth before me," but, " be-
fore the Lord,'" to denote that he
himself was but a messenger. It was
only subsequently that in the " small
still voice " the Deity vouchsafed to
reveal himself, and to speak to Eli-
jah. AnJ though Elijah, at the time
of the first vision, was, doubtless,
perfectly aware that he addressed an
angel of the Lord, he nevertheless
saith, " They have, abandoned thy
covenant."

But all this becomes explained
to us by the. fact, that, in usual

CUSTOMS AXD OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

203

parlance, he who is entrusted with
the royal commission for any espe-
cial purposes, issues his commands
in the name of the King; and that

all representations which are ad-
dressed to him are couched in pre-
ci«ely the same terms as if directed
to the King himself.
(To be continued.}

V.— CUSTOMS AXD OBSERVANCES OF THE Ji:\V>.
1, "THE FESTIVAL OF INAUGURATION."

THIS festival, which commemo-
rates the preservation of the national
existence, and the liberation of the
Jews from oppression the most gall-
ing and inhuman, is celebrated dur-
ing eight days, commencing on the
twent-fifth day of the month Kislev.
As the 'historical events, the memory
of which this festival perpetuates,
are most important to every Jew, we
deem it our duty to present our
readers with a short extract, from
the annals of our ancestors, concern-
ing this period of deep national ca-
lamity and suffering, from which a
merciful God vouchsafed to deliver
our fathers. The authorities we use
are Josephus, (Antiq , book xii,) the
apocryphal history of the Maccabees,
and the Hebrew p2^v. (Book iii.)
We have also thankfully and largely
availed ourselves of the aid afforded
to us by the History of the Jews by
Professor Milman.

The seventy years of exile and
captivity which an offended Deity
had denounced against Judah and
Jerusalem, were terminated by the
decree of Cyrus, as had been pre-
dicted by the Prophet of the Lord.
The Jews returned to Jerusalem.
The favour of the mighty monarch
of Persia was extended to the wor-
shippers of the true God. They re-
built their temple and city, and lived
peaceably in their native vallies.
While all around them was war and
devastation, while Xerxes undertook
his rash expedition against the
Greeks, and these in revenge ravaged
the shores of Asia Minor, till the
great king was forced to sue for
peace, the tranquil Jews, under the
directions of their High Priests, cul-
tivated the arts of peace, and strove
gradually to recover the opulence
and national welfare which they had
once enjoyed. No remarkable event,
for many years, interrupted the noise-

2

less tenor of their annals. If th?
rancorous hatred of Hainan threat-
ened extermination to tha Jewish
name, the merciful interposition of
Providence averted the danger, and
the fate which a remorseless foe had
prepared for Israel recoiled on his
own head. Haman, his sons, and
adherents, perished ignominious!)' ;
and in Judea, and throughout the
one hundred and twenty-seven pro-
vinces which composed the mighty
Persian empire, the Jews, in quiet
and comfort, could, on each revolv-
ing year, renew their thanks to the
All-merciful Being who ha 1 frustrat-
ed the murderous counsels of thjir
fell enemy.

But this state of quiet happiness
was doomed to be most fearfully in-
terrupted. A'exander the Greatr
King of .Macedon, and kader of the
Grecian hosts, attacked ths last
monarch of Persia. His irresistible
might overcame and scattered the
numerous hosts of Darius. Where-
ever he came he conquered. In his
progress he besieged Tyre ; thence
he sent his messengers to Jerusalem,
and commanded the High Priest to
furnish him with the same aid and
supplies which, till then, the Jews
had furnished to Darius, King of
Persia. The Je-.vs, true to the mon-
arch whose bounty they had experi-
enced, loyal and faithful in their al-
legiance, refused to comply with
Alexander's commands. Their High
Priest, in the name of the assembled
Council of Israel, replied, that they
had sworn not to bear arms against
Darius during their lives, and that
they could not break their oath of
allegiance. The haughty conqueror
felt offended. He rowed vengeance
against the petty tribe that had dared
to disobey his mandate. Tyre was
soon subdued ; and Jerusalem was
next threatened by his ar.ns. The
D 2

204

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES Of TUB JEWS.

long-continued tranquillity and pros-
perity of the Jews had excited the
envy of the neighbouring tribes. The
opulence of Jerusalem and its tem-
ple tempted their cupidity. No
sooner was it known that the victo-
rious army of Alexander was march-
ing against Jerusalem, than numer-
ous reinforcements of Samaritans
and Syrians, Phoenicians and Chal-
deans swelled his ranks. Jaddua
the High Priest, and the Jewish
people, were in the utmost conster-
nation and dismay. Public sacri-
fices were offered for the national
welfare ; public prayers arose to im-
plore the protection of the Deity. A
nocturnal vision revealed to Jaddua
how to appease the incensed Mace-
donians. Accordingly, he caused
the city to be ornamented with gar-
lands and flowers, and the gates to
be thrown open, whilst himself, and
the other Priests, dressed in their
sacred vestments, and the people
clothed in robes of white, prepared
to meet the dreaded conqueror. The
solemn procession marched forth to
Sapha, an eminence from whence
the whole city and temple might be
seen. No sooner had Alexander
beheld the High Priest in his hya-
cinthine robes embroidered with
gold, wearing his mitre with the
golden frontal, than he fell prostrate
and adored the Holy Name which
was there inscribed in golden cha-
racters. His attendants were aston-
ished ; the enemies of the Jews who
impatiently expected the signal of
slaughter and pillage,were struck with
amazement. At length Parmenio, one
of Alexander's principal leaders, ad-
dressed him and said, " How comes
it that thou, before whom every one
prostrates himself, shouldest kneel
before this Priest of the Jews ?"
Alexander replied, "I worship not
this man, but his God." He further
related how, previous to his entering
on his expedition to Persia, he had,
in a nocturnal vision, at Dion in
Macedonia, seen the Jewish High
Priest dressed as he was then before
him ; that the man who appeared to
him in that vision had encouraged
him, and promised him the conquest
of all Asia ; and he concluded by
saying, " Now that I see him before
me, my vision recurs to my mind,

and, as I am thus convinced of the
divine protection, I no longer doubt
but I shall fully succeed in my un-
dertakings." He entered Jerusalem
as a friend, offered rich sacrifices,
and granted the nation all those fa-
vours and immunities which they
solicited from him. After a short
sojourn, he departed to complete the
final subjugation of the Persian mon-
archy, and thus to verify the predic-
tion of the Prophet, that the empire
of Cyrus should be subverted by a
Greek.

The imminent danger being over-
past, Jerusalem could joyfully ac-
knowledge the Divine protection.
But the period of peace which en-
sued was not of long duration. Alex-
ander died within a few years after
his visit to Jerusalem. The prin-
cipal leaders of his armies shared his
conquests. Alike ambitious and
grasping, each strove to raise his own
power on the ruin of his compeers.
Constant warfare devastated the
eastern world ; and, far as the con-
quests of Alexander had extended,
rapine, oppression, and cruelty tram-
pled down the unoffending inhabit-
ants. Judea did not escape the
dreadful anarchy which ensued du-
ring this destructive warfare, waged
by the generals and successors of
Alexander. Ptolemy, king of Egypt,
assaulted Jerusalem on the Sabbath.
The Jews did not presume to violate
the sanctity'of the day by entering
on the work of slaughter, no resist-
ance was offered, and Ptolemy abused
his bloodless conquest by carrying
away one hundred thousand captives,
whom he settled chiefly at Alexan-
dria in Egypt, and Cyrene. Nor
was he long left in undisturbed pos-
session ; twice was Judea conquered
by Antigonus, another of the rival
chieftains ;(twiceregainedby Ptolemy,
under whose dominion it finally re-
mained. But Ptolemy had by this
time learned to respect his new sub-
jects. He found them still as ob-
servant of their plighted faith, as
loyal in their allegiance, as Alexan-
der had found them to be. He
therefore endeavoured to attach them
to his cause, enrolled an army of
thirty thousand Jews, and entrusted
the chief garrisons of the country to
their care. Under the mild govern-

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

205

ment of the three first Ptolemies,
Soter, Philadelphia, and Euergetes,
both the native and Alexandrian
Jews enjoyed many marks of ^the
royal favour; and while nearly all
the rest of the world was ravaged by
war, their country flourished in pro-
found peace, until the founding of
the Syro-Grecian kingdom, by Seleu-
cus, and the establishment of Anti-
och as the capital, brought them
into the unfortunate situation of a
weak nation placed between two
great conflicting monarchies. Egyp-
tians and Syro-Grecians alternately
wrested the land from each other ;
peace and security fled. Intestine
divisions increased the misfortunes
produced by foreign tyranny, and
eventually led to the plunder and
ruin of the holy city, and to the per-
secutions, and almost to the complete
extermination, of its people.

Antiochus, surnamed '* Epiphanes
the illustrious," had ascended the
throne of Syria. The conflicting chiefs
of Judea in turn appealed to his su-
premacy and implored his aid. Anti-
ochus united the quick and ver-
satile character of a Greek with the
splendid voluptuousness and fierce
despotism of an Asiatic. Amongst
the discrepancies of this worthless
character, must be reckoned a great
degree of bigotry and religious intol-
erance. Few of the most fanatical
persecutors of after-ages equalled
the ruthless attempts of Antiochus
to exterminate the religion of the
Jews and substitute that of the
Greeks. Yet the savage and tyran-
nical violence of Antiochus was, in
fact, and surely we may say provi-
dentially, the safeguard of the Jew-
ish nation from the greatest moral
danger to which it had ever been
exposed, the slow and secret, but
certain and pernicious, encroachment
of Grecian manners, Grecian arts,
Grecian vices, and Grecian idolatry. It
roused the dormant energy of thewhole
people, and united again in indissolu-
ble bonds the generous desire of na-
tional independence with zealous at-
tachment to the religious worship of
the Creator. It again identified the
true patriot with the devout worship-
per, and taught the Jew to know
that he owes his allegiance, first to
his God, and next to the land which

he inhabits. But we anticipate the
course of our narrative, to which we
now return.

Two contending High Priests of
the Jews outbid each other in the
royal favour. Joshua, who had as-
sumed the Grecian name, Jason, was
forced to yield to the richer presents
of his brother Onias, who, secure in
the venal protection of Antiochus, as-
sumed the name of Menelaus, and
oppressed his people. A formidable
insurrection broke out in Jerusalem
against his authority. Report mag-
nified it into a deliberate revolt of
the whole nation against Antiochus.
lie marched without delay to Jerusa-
lem, put to death in three days forty
thousand of the inhabitants, and
seized as many more to be sold as
slaves He next entered the temple ;
and, having stripped it of its conse-
crated utensils and other treasures,
he caused unclean animals to be sa-
crificed, and every part of the tem-
ple to be desecrated with the most
odious defilement. Nor was this
sufficient to satisfy his cruelty and
fanaticism : He determined to exter-
minate the whole Hebrew race ; and
the dreadful edict was entrusted
to Apollonius, by whom it was exe-
cuted with as cruel dispatch as the
most sanguinary tyrant could desire.
Apollonius waited till the Sabbath,
when the whole people were occu-
pied in their peaceful religious du-
ties. He then let loose his soldiers
against the unresisting multitude,
slew the men and seized all the wo-
men as captives. He proceeded to
pillage, and then to dismantle, the
city, which he set on fire in many
places : He threw down the walls,
and built a strong fortress on the
highest part of Mount Zion, which
commanded the temple and all the
rest of the city. From this garri-
son he harassed all the people of
the country, who stole in with fond
attachment to visit the ruins, or
to offer a hasty and interrupted wor-
ship in the place, of the sanctuary :
For all the public services had ceased,
and no voice of adoration was heard
in the holy city, unless that of the
profane heathen calling on their idols.
The persecution did not end here :
Antiochus issued an edict for uni.
fonnity of worship throughout his

206

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

dominions ; and dispatched officers
into all parts to enforce rigid com-
pliance with the decree. Jerusalem,
conspicuous above all other places,
was exposed to the utmost fury of
the royal bigot. The statue of Jupi-
ter Olympius, to whom the temple
had been dedicated, was erected on
the altar of burnt-offerings. Every
rite of the Mosaic law and worship
was strictly prohibited under pain of
death, — a penalty which many will-
ing victims incurred. The Book of
Maccabees records the sufferings
and the fortitude of an oppressed
people. We refer to its pages, and to
those of Josephus, for a detail of
cruelties which we shudder to insert
in our own. The licentious orgies of
the Bacchanalia were substituted for
the national festival of the tabernacles.
The reluctant Jews were forced to
join in these disgraceful riots. Who-
ever resisted met with instant death;
andjtotal extermination or abandon-
ment of their holy law was the alter-
native offered to every Hebrew.

Thus on the verge of apostasy,
ruin, and extermination, nothing
could avert the fate which threat-
ened our ancestors, when it pleased
the Divine Providence to interpose
and to save the remnant of his peo-
ple : Not indeed by a direct and mi-
raculous intervention as in days of
old; but by pouring forth the spirit
of zeal and patriotism ; awakening
in the minds of virtuous men that
noble daring which leads them to
conquer or to die, and that gene-
rous and true valour which considers
life of no value unless devoted to the
cause of God and of their father-
land. Such were the sentiments
which induced the aged Mattathias
to raise the sword against the fell
oppressors of his people ; which
prompted his five sons nobly to
stake their lives in defence of their
faith, and to free their injured bre-
thren from the ruthless tyranny of
their cruel persecutor. One by one
they fell willing sacrifices to their
most sacred cause ; but their noble
blood was not poured forth in vain.
Civil and religious freedom, peace,
and the undisturbed worship of the
one true God, were the glorious re-
wards of their toils, their dangers,
and their death. !And if Scotland

justly glories in her Wallace; if
Gustavus Vasa in Sweden, William
Tell in Switzerland, have merited
the gratitude of their people and the
admiration of posterity : If the glo-
rious names of these great men,
their noble struggles and heroic de-
votion, command the sympathies,
and share the veneration of every
true friend of humanity ; that sym-
pathy and veneration is in a much
higher degree due to Judas Macca-
bseus and his worthy brethren, the
glorious prototypes to all who, in
after-ages, merited the blessings of
their oppressed and injured fellow-
men.

In Modin, a village of Judea, on
an eminence, commanding a view of
the sea, lived Mattathias, an aged
man of the sacerdotal line, with his
five sons Joannan, Simon. Judas,
Eleazar, and Jonathan, — all in the
prime of life. He often lamented
before his sons the wretched state of
their people, and was accustomed to
say that it was far more noble to sa-
crifice their lives in defence of their
religion, their laws, and their coun-
try, than to live as apostates and
slaves. The opportunity of vindi-
cating his principles, and of proving
that they were those of his soul, not
merely of his lips, was soon afforded
to him. Apelles, a royal officer, ar-
rived at Modin, to enforce the edict
for abolishing the religion and laws
of the Jews. He first applied to
Mattathias, the man whose priestly
birth and high moral character gave
him the first rank in the place, and
the influence of whose example
would insure willing obedience to the
decree of Antiochus. Threats and
promises were alike resorted to by
Apelles, but in vain. Mattathias
nobly replied, that, though every
other person submitted, he would
rather die than forsake the laws
of the great God of Israel, and
exhorted his five sons to follow his
example. The altercation which
ensued became aggravated by an
apostate, who, in the presence of his
indignant countrymen,, sacrificed to
the idols whose worship J.:o royal
decree commanded. He fell by the
hand of Mattathias ; Apelles himself
and his attendants were attacked
and slain, and the men of Modin re-

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEW?.

207

tired to the mountains. Many true and
zealous Jews joined them, and rallied
round the standard of freedom which
Mattatbias and his sons erected.
Success attended their undertakings,
which were conducted with equal
enterprise and discretion. For a
time Mattathias and his followers lay
hidden in the mountain fastnesses ;
and, as opportunity offered, attacked
the towns, destroyed the heathen
altars, enforced circumcision, re-
established synagogues for nublic
worship, and drove off such of the
king's officers as were appointed to
enforce idolatry.

The venerable Mattathias did not
long survive these first successes.
Dying, he entrusted the command to
the most valiant of his sons, Judas
surnamed '1~, " Maccabaeus." It is
supposed this name was given from
the inscription of his banner, the ini-
tials of the words °'r, ~~si~'::r '~,
" Who is like unto thee a.r.ong
the Gods, O Lord? " (Exo.ius xv.
11.) The new leader proved himself
well worthy of the paternal confi-
dence, and fully equal to the exigen-
cies of those stirring times. Having
tried his solditrs by many gallant
adventures, surprising many cities
which he garrisoned and fortified, as
places of reiuge to his oppressed
brethren. Judas at length determined
to meet the enemy in the field.
Apollonius, Governor cf Samaria,
who marched against him, was to-
tally defeated. He himself fell in
single combat with Judas, who took
his sword as a trophy, which ever
after he used in battle. Seron, Go-
vernor of Coelo-Syria, was next de-
feated by Ju.ias with great slaughter.

Antiochus, informed that the peo-
ple whom he had so long oppressed
with impunity had at length been
goaded into resistance, sent forth a
formidable army of forty thousand
foot and seven thousand horse. Jn
their train came numerous slave-
merchants ; for the royal will of An-
tiothus b.aid decided that the con-
quered Jews should be sold, in order
to replenhh'his exhausted treasuries.
To meet.iiiis formidable host, Judas
Could number but six thousand fol-
lowers. In strict conformity with
the commands of the law, he pro-
claimed that whosoever had married

wives, planted vineyards, built
houses, or was fearful, should retire.*
Half his forces availed themselves of
the permission. With those few who
remained,the consummate generalship
of Judas, under providence, obtained
a decisive victory. The rich booty
of the camp fell into the hands of
the Jews, who, with just retribution,
sold for slaves as many of the slave -
merchants as they could find. Nu-
merous other battles were fought
with similar good success. The next
year the king's lieutenant, Lysias,
appeared in person at the head of
sixty thousand foot and five thousand
horse. Judas marched forth to meet
him at the head of ten thousand Jews,
defeated him, and forced him to re-
treat

Thus triumphant, victors in every
well-contested field, Judas and his
gallant followers entered Jerusalem.
Freedom of conscience, and the un-
disturbed worship of their God, had
been the potent motives which made
them draw the sword against their
haughty and bigotted oppressors.
Crowned with success, they now pre-
pared to restore that worship to its
ancient purity and splendour. They
found the gates of the temple burnt,
and the sanctuary abandoned ; shrubs
and weeds covered the courts, and
desolation had spread its ruthless
hand over every part of the splendid
pile. With tearful eyes, but heart-
felt gratitude, Judas and his men
commenced the task of repairing,
cleansing, and consecrating the sa-
cred buildings. The holy utensils,
the table of shew-bread, the candle-
sticks, and the altar of incense, all
pure gold, were made anew, and re-
placed in the sanctuary ; and the
temple was again inaugurated, on the
twenty-fifth day of the third month,
precisely three years after its profa-
nation and. pillage by Antiochus.
The Talmud (treatise, Sabbath, chap,
ii ) relate?, that when every prepara-
tion for the ^inauguration was com-
pleted, no consecrated oil could be
found for the sacred liyhts ; and the
scrupulous Judas justly feared to
contaminate the_ purity of the tem-
ple by using oil which had been de-
filed by idolaters. In this strait, a
small jar of oil, with the seal of a
* Dem. x:-.

203

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT-

former High Priest, still inviolate,
was found ; and though the quantity
which ita contained was barely suffi-
cient once to light the sacred lamps,
yet, by the special blessing of the
Deity, it proved sufficient for the
consumption of a whole week ;
during which period new oil was ob-
tained, and consecrated. In honour

of this manifestation of the divine
blessing, we burn the lights of nDi:n,
or, " the inauguration," while our
prayers and thanksgivings convey
our gratitude to the Most High, who
nerved the arms of his servants, and
saved his people from extermination
or apostasy.

VI. COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.*

FROM THE FIDNQ, OR " GATHERER," (an Hebrew Monthly Journal, published
at Koniysberg,} for the month Adar Rishon 5548 (Feb. 1788 ) Article, On
future Rewards and Punishments, by Naphtali Hertz Wcssely. Folio 160.

" And surely your blood of your lives will I
require it," &c. (Genesis ix. 5.)

THIS is one of the most obscure
and difficult passages in Scripture.
Why should the blood of man be
required from the brute beast, which
is not gifted with reason ? Further :
As, agreeably to the ordinary reading,
and liktwise to tradition, the first
part of the verse denounces suicide,
and the second part homicide, the
«nnin« (the period) ought to have
been after the word uniltf, "will I
require," where the sentence ends ;
instead of which it is placed after
the word liun-m, "will I require
it." Moreover, it is a surprising
fact, that wherever in Holy Writ we
find the word rvn, (here rendered
"beast,") as applied to the animal
or brute creation, it is always in
conjunction with the word noni,
"brute," or tira"), "reptile," or t^y,
" bird ; " and if none of these words
accompany it, the expression is either
rrn, " beasts of the earth." or
rpn, " beasts of the field," or
, " beasts of the forest," or
ni?1 ITn, " a wild beast." But
where no adjunct accompanies the
word trn, it invariably r.-lates to the
soul of man, except in the present
instance, where it stands by itself
without any adjunct— but neverthe-
less is made to refer to the brute
creation.

In order to explain all these appa-
rent difficulties, I am of opinion,

* We have been favoured with this trans-
lation by an erudite correspondent, to whom
we take this opportunity of returning our
Lest thanks — EDIT.

require, at the hand of every beast will I

that in this passage the meaning in-
tended to be conveyed is precisely
similar to that of all other instances
where the word !Tn occurs by itself
without any adjunct ; and that con-
seqiiently by it is meant the soul of
man. This removes at once every
difficulty and obscurity ; the passage
becomes perfectly intelligible, and
the translation very different from
its present rendering. Should, how-
ever, the question arise : " As the
first part of the verse denounces the
punishment of the suicide, how can
that punishment be inflicted on a
senseless inanimate corpse?" I re-
ply, The Sacred Scriptures proceed
to tell you, without stop or intermis-
sion, " from every soul will I require
it." Although, by the act of the
suicide, life is become extinct, and
the tie between body and soul de-
stroyed, still the soul survives, and
"from the nTT soul will I require it."
And this soul is now justly called
rrn, "living" or "imperishable,"
because it no longer performs its
functions within a perishable body.
The Knrijnn, or period, is, accord-
ing to this rendering, justly placed
where it ought to be, most distinctly
marking the first part of .the verse
relating to suicide, which it separates
from the second part relating to
homicide. And, moreover, we have
the satisfaction to find in the Sacred
Scriptures this early and perfret
indication of a punishment to the
soul after death, and the necessary
sequitur, — its immortality and future
reward. S. H., SEN.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBIXICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FIRST DAY OF TEBATH, 5595.
FRIDAY, JAJTDAHY 2, 1835.

No. 14.

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

SIR, — CONSIDERING that " THE HEBREW REVIEW" is especially calcu-
lated to arouse the Israelites to a due sense of their own dignity, your
pages, I feel assured, will be open to every sincere lover of bis people,
who may feel desirous, to the best of his ability, to assist you in your
laudable endeavours.

If you consider the article sent herewith deserving of insertion, I trust
it will be indulgently received by your readers ; it being sent you merely
as an incentive to other and more able hands to take up the pen in this
good cause. I am, Sir, Yours very respectfully,

29ih Dec., 1834. A. A. L.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IX THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

AMONG the many circumstances
that might be brought forward to
prove that man was intended for the
social state, there is none, perhaps,
of a more conclusive nature than
the amazing flexibility of his coun-
tenance, and the significant gestures
and action of his body, by means
of which his internal emotions are
made manifest to his fellow-men.

The works of the creation afford
ample proofs that nothing has been
made in vain ; and the faculty of
exhibiting, by external signs, that
which is passing within him, would
hare been given to man to little pur-
pose, had he been destined to lead
a solitary life. That it formed part
of his nature from the beginning, is
evident from the first pair endea-
vouring, in vain, to avoid the search-
ing eye of their Maker, from a con-
sciousness that their disobedience
would be betrayed by the troubled
countenance, the downcast eyes,
and the drooping head of guilt and

shame, which had succeeded to the
calm countenance and erect posture
of innocence.

The sentence pronounced upon
Cain, that he should be " a fugitive
and a vagabond in the earth/" affords
another early proof that this faculty
of the human countenance was
given to serve as the index of his soul.
He shuns the society of men, and
fears that " every one that findeth
him will slay him," because he is
conscious that his very countenance
would betray him as the guilty ho-
micide.

That the moral qualities of man
are considered to be indicated by the
expression of his countenance, and
even by his carriage and deport-
ment, needs no other proof than the
incontestable fact, that almost every
one is apt to form to himself an opi-
nion of the character and disposi-
tion of other men, by those external
signs. Nothing is more common
than to say of a man, " He has a

2 E

210 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAIT IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

noble bearing ; " of another, " He
is of a benevolent disposition, it is
stamped on his countenance;" of
one, that he evinces not a particle of
pride, whilst the countenance of
another is said to beam with every
virtue. And if we refrain from ut-
tering opinions which the manifesta-
tion of qualities of an opposite
nature are calculated to impress
upon us, it is_ in obedience to that
charitable precept which teaches us
to speak all the good we know or
perceive, and to abstain from pro-
claiming the defects and weaknesses
of our fellow- men.

These impressions being almost
always sudden and involuntary,
shows that they arise from no other
cause than the effect produced by
the expression of the countenance,
and the bearing of the person thus
judged; and were it not founded in
nature, the painter would be em-
ployed in portraying falsities, and
creations of his own imagination,
instead of truths and realities, when,
in the expression of the countenance,
and in the gestures and action of the
body, he endeavours, with his pencil,
to convey an idea of the passions
and feelings which actuate .the per-
sonages whom he represents to our
view.

We are stating a fact, and are not
to be understood as inculcating, that
external appearances are to be made
the rule for one man's judging of
another : This, as appears from what
has gone before, is clearly not our
intention. It is in fact our duty, to
suspend our judgment, and even to
endeavour to control impressions
that are unfavourable to our fellow-
men, until we examine further. Yet
it is undeniable, that this faculty of
giving and receiving impressions by
external signs serves many useful
and even beneficent purposes ; for,
whilst we are compelled, sometimes
as if instinctively, to put ourselves
on our guard against sinister appear-
ances, let it not be forgotten in how
many more instances we are drawn
to love and respect our fellow-crea-
tures, and to sympathize with them,
by this same mode of judging from
external signs, and before we can
have ascertained by other proofs that
they are deserving of either.

It detracts nothing from our posi-
tion, if it be said that " man pos-
sesses likewise the faculty of dis-
sembling or concealing his internal
emotions : " The very fact of his
endeavouring to do so, is a confir-
mation that, without such an effort,
they would be betrayed by his covfh-
tenance. No one need strive to hide
the expression of his good qualities;
the effort, then, when made, must be
to suppress the expression of such
as are bad : To succeed in this, and
for a continuance, is confessedly an
arduous task, in which few attain an
unenviable perfection ; for the mask
will slip aside, in spite of every
effort, and the true character will be
perceived behind it : So much
stronger is nature than art !

Thus every man is, in a great
measure, able to make himself
acceptable to his fellow-men, even at
first «ght ; not by putting on the
semblance of virtues which he does
not possess, or by endeavouring to
suppress the expression of vices to
which he is addicted, but by sin-
cerely and assiduously cultivating
every virtue that ennobles his nature,
and carefully abstaining, not only
from those vicious courses which
degrade him below the brute crea-
tion, but likewise from admitting
into his breast those low passions
and feelings which deteriorate from
his nature, such as his Creator in-
tended it should be. By such a
course, a countenance to which
nature has denied her favours, be-
comes more pleasing and acceptable
to us, than the most perfectly-formed
features indicating habits of a con-
trary description.

But what is man, with all his pre-
eminence ? Helpless on first coming
into the world, he appears in all
stages of his existence, and to the
very period when his eyes close upon
the present scene, to need the foster-
ing care of a parent. How shall
man know which paths to tread,
which to shun ? How shall he teach
himself, or from what fellow-man
will he learn, to develope the intri-
cacies of his own heart, and to guard
against the assaults of his self-love,
his passions, and his appetites ? In-
struction he needs in all these ; and
instruction, as it is good or bad, or,

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

211

as the good is followed or neglected,
will form his character. This, being
no less true with nations than with
individuals, has caused the distin-
guishing traits of nations to be
ascribed to the effects produced by
their climate, their soil, manners,
customs, and government, respec-
tively.

The enumerating of these causes
without classing them, as on a first
view ic might seem proper to do,
into such as ar» calculated more es-
pecially to affect either the physical
or moral character of nations, ap-
pears to intimate the close connexion
which it is understood subsists be-
tween the mind and the body, and
thus neither can wholly escape being
affected by any cause which operates
on the other. Thus, though the
stature, complexion, peculiar form
of the head, the eyes, &c., of the
human frame are more strictly refer-
able to the physical causes, — climate
and soil ; yet the moral causes, — man-
ners, custom, and government, which
operate more directly on the moral
character of man, — have no small
influence on his body likewise, and
more especially on the expression of
his countenance and his bearing.

It is not to our purpose to discuss
the effects of physical causes : We
are to deal only with those which
affect the expression of the counte-
nance and the bearing of the body.
Such are the moral causes.

The manners and customs of a
whole people may be taken as a fair
criterion of their morals ; and their
morals, it will not be disputed, are
greatly influenced by the laws which
govern them.

When the laws enforce virtue and
denounce vice, their observance not
only promotes the moral perfection
of the people, but, if there is any
truth in our proposition, they must
likewise impress their beneficial
effects on their countenance and
bearing ; and the reverse to this may
be assumed. Thus, whilst one na-
tion is distinguished by an erect body
and noble mien, another is marked
by a crouching carriage and ignoble
i countenance. One people evinces a
mild and patient character, whilst
another exhibits a fierce and impa-
tient spirit. History confirms the

2 E

truth of these observations. The
expression of countenance and bear-
ing of the Greeks and Romans was
very different in the more virtuous
periods of their history from that
which they exhibited in their decline.

The manners, custom", and go-
vernment of most European nations,
and consequently their morals, assi-
milate so nearly in many points,
that the natives of each are not now
so easily distinguishable as they were
some centuries ago ; and this, instead
of disproving, more strongly corro-
borates, our position ; for, the same
moral causes operating, are seen to
produce the same effects on the cha-
racteristic traits of these nations.
Yet shades still exist ; in some
they are broad and strong ; in
others, less defined and marked
by a fainter outline, they lequire
a more experienced eye to discern
them : But even these may be dis-
covered, and are referable to the
still prevailing shades in the man-
ners, customs, and government of
the respective nations.

But if we remove out of Europe,
the effects of the moral causes are
more striking. A Turk, a Chinese,
an Indian, and an African,* offer, in
the expression of their several coun-
tenances, and in their deportment,
an evidence of the truth of our posi-
tion.

From what has preceded it will be
inferred, that the wisest and most
beneficent lawgiver is he who lays
down such laws as are calculated to
raise the moral and physical qualities
of man to the utmost perfection
which he is jcapable of attaining in
his present state. Such a code of
laws necessarily implies a legislator
intimately acquainted with man's
nature, the numerous relations in
which he will be placed, what he
ought to shun and what to cherish.
And this knowledge would not avail
him without the ability likewise to
provide for every case that can possi-
bly arise.

Now, so apparently conflicting are
the interests of mankind, the
feelings arising from self-love are
seemingly so much at variance with

* The two last are included, because we
are advening to moral and not physical

212 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAIT IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

many of our duties as members of
the social state, and so difficult is it
to assign wise limits even to our vir-
tues, as well as to those appetites and
passions which have been given to
man for the wisest and most benevo-
lent purposes, that no human legis-
lator ever has been, or ever will be,
found so presumptuous as to pretend
to be capable of reconciling all these
apparently jarring elements, and of
reducing them to order and a beauti-
ful harmony.

HE only who created man, and
who knows the inmost recesses of
his heart and thoughts, could pre-
pare for him such a code of laws,
by the observing of which these
discrepancies would vanish, and
his nature be raised to its proper
dignity.

The utter insufficiency of man to
form such a code of laws, offers one
of the strongest arguments in sup-
port of the truth of revelation. For
how much less care of him, than of
the brute creation, would it not have
argued, had man, amidst so many
conflicting passions and interests,
been left without that instruction
which he so much needs, and which
he himself is incapable of affording ?
The brutes can neither make them-
selves better nor worse than they
have been created : They obey their
respective instincts and perform their
parts with scarcely any will of their
own. But with man it is different :
Created from the first a free-agent
and a responsible being, he was
allowed the power to choose between
obedience and disobedience. The
lesson afforded at the very outset of
his history teaches us that man is
not all-sufficient in himself for attain-
ing the perfection of his nature ; that
without the guidance and instruction
of his Maker he would too frequently
use his free-agency to his own detri-
ment : And, even now that a full in-
struction has been vouchsafed, we
have presented to our eyes every
day the melancholy effects of man's
repeated disobedience.

Human lawgivers appear to be
chiefly occupied in framing laws for
augmenting the power and wealth of
their respective communities ; and
those laws, often detrimental to other
nations, have likewise too frequently

proved injurious to the moral cha-
racter of their own people.

It is only through Divine Laws
that man can attain to his proper
dignity and perfection. They alone
can promote the happiness and wel-
fare of the whole human race, with-
out inflicting evil upon any ; and it
is their exclusive character to be cal-
culated for all people, for all ages,
and for all places. It may assuredly
then be affirmed, that, in proportion
only as human laws are based on the
immutable laws of the Deity, will
they be calculated to promote the true
happiness of a people, and to impress
them with a moral character.

From the foregoing premises we
are led to conclude that no people
ought to exhibit a more noble bearing,
or an aspect more expressive of vir-
tuous habits and elevated sentiments,
than the people to whom the Deity
Himself vouchsafed to be the Legis-
lator. It is impossible, on carefully
examining the tendency of those
laws, not to perceive how well their
observance is calculated to raise man
to the highest perfection which his
present state is capable of attaining.
There is no virtue, no good feeling,
that is not enforced; no vice, no
weakness, that is not denounced.
That command, especially, which
renders it imperative upon every
Israelite to study profoundly his law,
to have always before his eyes the
wise and beneficent precepts which
it contains, in order that his conduct
in every particular may be conformed
to them, joined to the habit of con-
stantly dwelling on the sublime truths
which he finds in almost every page
of the sacred volume, it must be con-
fessed, is eminently calculated, not
only to render them truly good, but
to extend their beneficent effects on
the aspect and bearing of the whole
nation, if it be admitted that virtuous
habits of mind and action have any
influence at all on the external ap-
pearance of man.

Let us see how far this opinion
agrees with what we find in the
Scriptures themselves. Moses, when
enforcing upon the people the ob-
servance of the laws and statutes
which their God had given them,
says, that, among other good effects,
" The Lord will take away from thee

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

213

all sickness, and will put none of the
evil diseases of Egypt which tbou
knowest upon thee." (Deut. viii. 15.)
Again : "Ye are the children of the
Lord your God : Ye shall not cut
yourselves, nor make any baldness
between your eyes for the dead : For
thou art a holy people unto the Lord
thy God, and the Lord hath chosen
thee to be a peculiar people unto
himself above all the nations of the
earth." (Deut. xiv. 1, 2.) We might
refer likewise to the great care
evinced for enforcing cleanliness,
choice of wholesome meats, modera-
tion in the use of them, the govern-
ment and regulation of the appetites
and passions, the practice of benefi-
cence, charity, duty and reverence to
parents, and respect to the hoary
head ; and if there could have existed
a doubt that among other more im-
portant effects, the observance of
these excellent laws and precepts
would impress their beneficent cha-
racter on the aspect and bearing of
the whole nation, Moses puts it out
of all question when he tells them,
" Keep therefore and do them ; for
this is your wisdom and your under-
standing in the sight of the nations,
which shall hear all these statutes,
and say, Surely this great nation is a
wise and understanding people."
(Deut. iv. 6.) And that he meant
their effects should be seen in their
personal appearance, may be further
perceived by his warning them of
the consequences which would attend
their non-observance of their laws.
For, among other denouncements, he
declares, " And thou shall become
an astonishment, a proverb, and a
by-word among all nations, whither
the Lord shall lead thee." (Deut.
xxviii. 370 " And thy life shall
hang in doubt before thee ; and thou
shalt fear day and night, and shalt
have none assurance of thy life. In
the morning thou shalt say, ^Yould
God it were even ! and at even thou
shall say, ^Yould God it were morn-
ing ! for the fear of thine heart
wherewith thou shalt fear, and for
the sight of thine eyes which thou
shalt see." (Deul. xxviii. 66, 67.)

\Vhat furlher proofs do we require
than these instances, to convince us
that it has been ordained that moral
causes should produce their effects

on the aspect and bearing even of a
whole people ? \Yhen pursuing a
virtuous course, it is predicted, lhat
they would command the admiration
and respect of other nations ; but
that a contrary course should bring
upon them contempt and reproach.

There is a remarkable feature in
the laws given to the Israelites which
is peculiar to them, (for it is not
found in the laws of any other peo-
ple,) and deserves the greatest con-
sideration : Their code contains at
once, — their civil jurisprudence, —
their criminal laws, — their religious
creed, rites, ceremonies, and observ-
ances, as well as all their moral pre-
cepts. All these are intermingled in
the same code, and their observance
is made a duty towards their Creator,
as well as towards their fellow-men.

An Israelite, after undergoing the
punishment directed by the law to
be inflicted upon him by his fellow-
men, for infringing any of its sta-
tutes, had still to make his peace
with his Maker. His fellow-men
were to be satisfied with the inflicl-
ing of the punishment awarded ; but
his offended God couid be propitiated
only by his contrition and by of-
ferings in token of his penitence.
This combinination of their civil
and criminal laws with their reli-
gious creed and ordinances, must
have always operated powerfully on
the Jewish people; and, if carefully
examined, it would probably be
found to have proved the great means
through which they themselves have
been preserved as a nation to the
present day, and in possession of
the law which was given them at the
very time when they were first con-
stituted a nation.

^Ye shall next have to advert to
the effects of this peculiar feature
in their laws upon the Israelites,
when dwelling in their own country ;
upon them as the children of the
captivity in Babylon and its pro-
vinces ; and upon the children of
the dispersion, from the period of
the destruction of their second tem-
ple, up to the present time. It may
then be perceived how it has operated
hitherto, and is calculated to operate
hereafter, not only on the moral
character, but on the aspect and
bearing, of the Jewish people, and

214

THE MISHNA.

in fulfilling that promise which was
made to them in these words :
" When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee ; and
through the rivers, they shall not

overflow thee : when thou walkest
through the fire, thou shall not be
burned ; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee." (Isaiah xliii. 2.)
A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

«*

II. THE MISHNA.

FDDD, Meschet h Aboth : "THE ETHICS OP THE FATHERS."

plb P\ COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRT8 WESSELY.

(Continued from page 195.)

II. SIMON the Just was the last survivor of the men of the Great Assembly. He
was in the habit of saying, " The existence of the world rests upon three things : On the
law, on worship, and on practical benevolence."

TRUE to the example set by the Di-
vine sages who went before him, our
instructor does hot attempt to explain
to us the causes which induced Om-
nipotence to create the world, but
contents himself with telling us that
the preservation of the world de-
pends on the above-mentioned three
principles ; and that if any one of
these were annulled, the bands of
unity would be broken, and that
preservation greatly endangered.
Should, however, the question arise,
" How can the system of the uni-
verse and its preservation depend on
law, worship, and practical benevo-
lence, or the innumerable animate
beings owe their continued existence
to our observance of these three
principles?" the answer is, Our
instructer does not intend to tell us,
that the preservation of the universe
is connected with our terrestrial law,
worship, or practical benevolence ;
but that each part of that system
owes its preservation to its own pe-
culiar law, worship, and practical
benevolence, in the same manner as
our earth does. The law which we
obey is the representative of the
great laws of the universe. It is
wise, and a type of the superior, in-
finite, and perfect wisdom with which
the universe was created and is pre-
served. Of the law we find it said,
" Ye shall be careful and fulfil it ;
for this is your wisdom and under-
standing." (Deut. iv. 6.) And of
creation it is said, " The Lord has
founded the earth with wisdom, and
has confirmed the heavens with un-
derstanding." (Proverbs iii. 190
Wisdom preceded all the works of
creation, as it is said, " I apper-

tained unto the Lord at the outset of
his path ; the first of all his works,
from yore." (Proverbs viii. 22.) Con-
sequently, throughout creation there
are certain laws, laid down with wis-
dom. The more exalted creatures
of other worlds know and obey the
laws which the Creator has enacted ;
and are beneficent, inasmuch as they
perform their duties in the chain of
creation, the general aim of which is
benevolent. Their worship corre-
sponds with their superior intellect,
as they unceasingly obey the laws,
and perform the will, of their Crea-
tor. Were there any possibility that
these superior beings could abandon
or disobey their law, their worship,
and their obligations of practical
benevolence, the universal system
could no longer be preserved ; as
this terrestrial system could no
longer be preserved, if man were to
abandon the observance of law, of
worship, and of practical benevo-
lence. The violation of these three
principles involved mankind in al-
most general destruction at the time
of the deluge. The same cause pro-
duced the same effects, as far as the
sphere of its operation extended, at
Sodom, and the cities of the plain.
Such would likewise have been the
fate of Nineveh, had not the inha-
bitants of that city repented and
amended their ways. Thus it is
proved, that the preservation of the
universal system depends on the due
observance of these three great prin-
ciples.

On the Law — By "Law" our in-
structer does not mean the observance
of its commands generally, as that is
comprehended under worship. He

THE MISHNA.

215

likewise does not mean its study ; as
that study is one of the commands,
and as such likewise comprehended
under worship. But he means the
unceasing inward occupation of the
heart and mind with this law ; as it
is written : " These words which I
command thee this day, shall be on
thy heart." (Deut. vi. 6.) With re-
ference to this law, the inspired |So-
lomon saith, " My son, do not forget
my law, and let thy heart preserve my
commandments. Let not mercy and
truth forsake thee : tie them round
thy throat, and write them on the
tablet of thy heart." (Prov. iii. 1—30
Let my Jaw be within thee, and thou
wilt then observe my command-
ments. The hidden wisdom of the
law is beyond the comprehension of
man, as it is said, "Wisdom is hidden
from the eyes of all that liveth ; God
(alone) knoweth his own path."' (Job
xxviii. 21 — 23.) As thus the pene-
trating into the secrets of the law is
not given to the faculties of the soul,
the Sacred Writer directs us to fasten
the bands of the law to our minds,
as we clasp an ornament to our
throats. He further says, " Write
them on the tablet of thy heart."
As the human heart is generally
hardened, and obeys but the im-
pulses of its passions, while, in re-
spect to the law and obedience to it,
it is like a stone ; (as the prophet
says, " I will take away the heart of
stone from out of your bodies ; "
Ezek. xi. 13 ;) it is therefore most
difficult to impress that obedience on
the human mind, and we are en-
joined to engrave the precepts of
the law in our inmost heart, so that
our stubborn nature may become
subdued, a new and nobler disposi-
tion created within us, that we may
slight the world, its pride, its plea-
sures, and its temptations, and con-
centrate all our wishes and all our
desires in obedience to the law, and
in attachment to its great and glo-
rious Giver : As the Sacred Singer
saith, " But in the law of the Lord
is his desire : and on his law he re-
flects day and night." (Psalm i. 2.)
The word min, " Law," in the
sense in which it is here used by our
instructer, implies the whole con-
nection between man and religion. It
denotes faith, and sentiments founded

on truth, and also points out our best
Guide and Teacher, as we very often
rind it called in'Holy Writ. Thus the
meaning of our instructer is, The
preservation of the world rests on
the law ; namely, the inward convic-
tion and contemplation of the essen-
tial truths of religion.

On worship — The due observance
of the commandments both positive
and negative, which the law enjoins.
Tn these are comprised Divine wor-
ship, prayers, study of the law ; and
as the more exalted creatures of the
celestial world unceasingly obey the
law, and perform the will of their
Divine Maker, so must we likewise
in this our terrestrial existence obey
the law and perform the command-
ments which are revealed to us : As
the Psalmist sings, " Praise the
Lord, ye his angels, strong in might,
who perform his commands, to hear
the voice of his word." (Ps. ciii. 20.)

On practical benevolence — In using
these words our instructer does not
wish us to understand, that as wor-
ship refers to our duties towards our
Creator, so practical benevolence re-
fers to our duties towards our fel-
low-men only; for all these duties
are enjoined by the law ; and the
performance of them is actually
obeying its commandments, which,
as we stated before, is classed under
worship. His meaning in using
the words tD'IDH mb's:, which
we render " practical benevolence,"
is the constant repetition of mercy
and graciousness. It is not suffi-
cient to abide by the precise perform-
ance of our duties, but likewise, to
the utmost extent in our power, to
be ourselves, and cause others to be,
actuated by benevolent intentions,
and that not only towards others,
but towards ourselves individually,
to whom benevolence is likewise
due ; as the inspired Solomon says,
"He who is benevolent to his own soul
is pious." (Prov. xi. 17.) The prac-
tical benevolence which our instructer
means is not only the third great prin-
ciple in itself, hut likewise that which
pervades both law and worship :
For though these point out to us a
precise line of duty, the performance
of which is imperative, yet the exer-
cise of our free-will enables us to be
benevolent to our own souls, and

216

DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIE9.

thus to be pious, by exerting our
utmost influence and endeavours, on
all occasions, to animate ourselves
and our fellow-men with principles
of true practical benevolence, not
only in action, but likewise in
thought; as we find in a most emi-
nent degree in the worthies of Holy
Writ, whose character is held up to
us as patterns of the greatest perfec-
tion which human virtue can attain.
In Moses we find devotion ; as he
devoted life and soul to the cause of
his brethren, when, in his urgent
prayers for their pardon, he says,
" If not, blot me out from thy
book." (Exod. xxxii. 32.) Aaron
had attained that degree of resigna-
tion, that when, on the day of his
inauguration, his two beloved and
anointed sons were smitten by the
Lord, " Aaron remained silent."
(Lev. x. 3.) David was pre-eminent
for faith and confidence in the Lord ;
as he says, "Thy servant will go
and combat this Philistine." (1 Sam.
xvii. 32.) And many similar instaces
we find, which are not within the
precise line of duty enjoined by the
law, but which are acts of practical
benevolence towards our own souls.
Towards our fellow-men there like-
wise are virtues which exceed the
precise line of duty ; as, for instance :
Every community is bound to be
charitable and to relieve its own
poor : to be practically benevolent
is, however, in the power of the
poorest individual who receives that
charity. Every man not only can
but ought to extend his feelings of
love and kindness towards his fellow-
men ; he can and ought to strive to
attain these feelings in a high
degree, and to evince them on every
occasion within his reach. He ought
to devote all his faculties to promote

the temporal and eternal welfare of
his neighbours, and to the best of
his own knowledge to instruct and
amend them.

The due observance of the first
two principles, LAW and WORSHIP, is
called flQM, " truth ; " that of the
last is called 1DH, "mercy." The
first two are called " truth," because
they point out that precise line of
duty to which it is imperative on
roan to adhere. Whereas the last is
called " mercy," because it surpasses
the strict dictates of duty. These
two attributes of truth and mercy
are those with which the Deity
governs the universe ; as our teacher
Moses made known to us: "God,
gracious and bountiful, long-suffer-
ing, full of mercy and truth." (Exod.
xxxiv. 6.) The preservation of the
world requires that man should, to
the utmost of his power, endeavour
humbly to imitate these two qualities;
as Solomon saith, "Let not mercy
and truth forsake thee." David like-
wise often mentions these qualities ;
as, " Thy mercy and thy truth pre-
serve unto me for ever." (Psalm xl.
12.) " Let mercy and truth precede
thy presence." (Psalm Ixxxix. 15.)
" I will thank thy name for thy
mercy and thy truth." (Psalm
cxxxviii.2.) These attributes are thus
frequently mentioned, as without
them the universe cannot be pre-
served. And, therefore, our in-
structer tells us, that the existence
of the world rests on the practical
benevolence, not only of the created,
but also, and in a more eminent de-
gree, on that of the Creator. In the
three principles which our instructer
lays down are concentrated all^reli-
gion and morality ; and in them is
pointed out what is due to God, to
man, and to ourselves.

(To be continued.)

III. DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIES.

Bechinath Olam : " AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MORAL WORLD.'
(Continued from page 196 J

CHAPTER v.*

BEHOLD now a sore evil, almost
irremediable : Lo ! an intelligent
being, evincing desires for purposes

* On the vanity of worldly acquisitions?.
— TRANS.

of no avail ; forming hasty projects,
and a variety of designs, for the in-
crease of trade, and the accumulation
of wealth, to be left on the earth on
his translation therefrom, and aban-
doned when he falls !

DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBTES.

217

What may be the portion he can
personally enjoy of all the labour
employed for the gratification of his
corporeal senses, but the gaudy dis-
play of a luxurious table ?

Nay, even from this, from the
store of his treasures, and costlj
caskets of perfume, acquired with
trouble and painful exertion, — what
has he from them all but a transient
view ? whilst they prove snares to
him, aggrandizing the most base
faculties of his soul, and enslaving
the most noble and independent !

Whatever this abject band demand
is complied \vith ; and of whatever
they desire they take their fill :

Whereas the lonely and forsaken
soul is disregarded, left to slumber
like a dog in his kennel :

The wisdom of her lips is unattend-
ed to, her dictates neglected, and her
doctrines destroyed, as the flaxen
thread corrugates with fearful shrink-
ing on approaching the flame !

Is such the act of a wise man ?
Ought so paltry a dish of lentils to
be deemed an equivalent for the
noble spiritual birthright :

Shall a poor handful of transient
pleasures afford delight, which will
produce of grief and trouble a thou-
sand fold.

Is it well that the sensual entrails
be delighted, while the soul is left to
grieve ? that the corporeal frame be-
come ruddy with enjoyment, and its
spiritual inmate be left desolate ?

What profit has he who, during
the vision of a night, imagines him-
self a king, when, at the very sum-
mit of his power and pride, he awakes,
and finds it but a dream ? or who
fancied himself to have become
and full of knowledge, appealed to
and consulted by assemblies of the
learned, until he awakes to his form-
er emptiness and ignorance ?

Woe to the man of power ! He
will fall, and his strong jirm be
broken.

Woe to such a man ! An arm's
length of earth will become his inhe-
ritance ; nor will its precious seed
be his.

CHAPTER VI.*

A STILL greater evil exists in the
strenuous wishes of the commonalty
for the swift revolution of time to
aid the attainment of their desires ;
when, probably, its arrival, by the
developement of evil, would incite
the soul to wish the year and its
afflictions to have passed away.

What avails man's watching for
the events of the night, when in a
night he may be lost ? or his longing,
and saying, " Would it were even-
ing ! " when, the time arriving, he
may perish and decay ?

Why eagerly watch the shadow,
when at the parting shadows his
moisture will have departed, and the
ravenous grasp his treasures ?

How can he be assured of the con-
tinued union of his soul with his
body, when sun-set may prove the
period of her departure ?

His hopes are fixed on a cer-
tain day ; on that day he may be
entombed.

He is anxious for the completion
of a period, at its arrival he may be
shocked by terrors ; for seasons,
when his feet may slip ; for years,
when all his arrangements may have
become altered ; for the sabbatical
year, when he may be turned fallow
from the earth ; for the jubilee,
which may prove a mournful time :

Why is the soul so panting for
time, when a^re may bring contempt
and contumely ? and why expect
otherwise than to be stricken with-
out mercy ?

Why then hast thou not taken
this to heart, in attempting to leap
from the beginning to the end of the
year in the twinkling of an eye ?

And devoted as thou art to the
earth as thou oughtest to be to God,
soMost thou wish to slip by time ;
but thou must leave it fc;
grave.

Surely all this is nought but per-
verseness of heart.

* On misuse and miscalculation of time.
— TRANS.

(To be continued.)

*„* We omitted last week to state, that we are indebted for the continuation of this
aide translation to the kindness of our learned and mucli respected correspondent, J. Y. O.,
of Lirerpool. — EDITOR.

•2 F

218

IV. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Seplier Ikkarim :

DIVISION III. CHAPTER I.

As MAN in his nature and intel-
lectual capacity ranks above all other
animate beings on earth, he is the
most important and perfect of all the
lower creation. That his nature is
more exalted than that of all other
animals, is proved by his producing
manifold and contrary effects. That
his [intellectual capacities exceed
those of other animals, is proved by
his various inventions, skilful arts,
and sage industry. And although
other animals have less wants, or
need of adventitious protection,
than man ; (as that of shade from
the heat of the sun, a shelter against
the rain ;) and as their food requires
no preparation, aliments in their na-
tural state being adapted for their
condition and to their means of di-
gestion ; as, moreover, it appears
that several animals are gifted with
a certain degree of skill, as we see
some ravenous beasts and birds which
display art and cunning in their at-
tempts to catch their prey : — We
say, it would, notwithstanding all
this, be erroneous arid unfounded to
suppose, that any other animals are
superior in perfection to man, as one
of the ancient philosophers was
tempted to assert : His opinion was,
that, as animals have fewer wants
than man ; as they need the aid of no
others for their speedy conveyance
from one place to another, their own
legs being gifted with strength and
speed ; — as they need no extraneous
arms of defence or offence to combat
their [foes, the weapons with which
they are endowed by nature being
such as are best adapted to their
conformation ; such as horns for the
bull, tusks for the hoar, quills for the
porcupine, and a shell for the crab ;
— as they likewise need no raiment,
nature having furnished them with
the necessary clothing ; and as thus,
in reference to all their wants, they
are more simple and better furnished
by the bountiful hand of nature than
man is, the opinion of that ancient
philosopher was, that other animals
are far superior to man, whose wants

BOOK OF PRINCIPLES: BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 202.)

are numberless, and who cannot ex-
ist unless those wants are satisfied;
to do which requires the utmost ex-
ertion of his skill, ingenuity, and
labour. But this opinion must, on
mature reflection, be considered as
utterly untenable: For we maintain
that the outward form and conforma-
tion of all that exists, prove a gra-
dual ascent in the scale of terrestrial
creation, as, at each progressive step
of this ascent, we find the species by
which it is occupied, endowed by na-
ture with greater perfection. The first
form of matter is simple or elemen-
tary, as the germ of its future orga-
nization : It then developes itself in
the vegetable organization, which is
the next step of its progress. Ve-
getable substances form the nourish-
ment either directly or indirectly of
all living creatures, and serve to
develops the animal organization.
Animals are, in their turn, subser-
vient to the intellectual creature,
MAN ; who completes the scale of
terrestrial creation. For as every
movable body is propelled by the
continued impulse proceeding from
its successive parts, so likewise, in
the body of creation, each part takes
its place in the orderly progress,
for the purpose of being subservient
to those other parts which succeed it :
And this whole progression has but
one aim ; namely, all the va-
rious forms and conformations to
which matter is appropriated tend
but to insure the existence of man,
as every object in nature gradually
ascends from the less to the greater
perfection. In this graduated ascent
we find various intermediate species :
As, for instance, corallines are the
intermediate species between unor-
ganized bodies and vegetation. The
sea-nettle, which is only gifted with
feeling, occupies the intermediate
rank between vegetables and ani-
mals. The ape occupies the inter-
mediate rank between animals and
man ; who occupies the highest rank
in this scale, because all other earthly
creatures exist but for him, their
forms serving but as so many germs
to his developement, [and in him

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBICS.

219

all their powers are concentrated.
Therefore, man is properly called
" the lord of creation ; " for all
other animals are subservient to him
as their ruler, who combines within
himself all those different powers,
arts, skill, and inventive instincts,
with but one of which every other
individual species of animals is gene-
rally gifted. And to him reason, the
faculties of his understanding, and
his corporeal formation, supply the
place of that natural provision with
which Providence has furnished the
simple wants of every other animal.
THUS the hands of man, guided by
his reason, are found to be equiva-
lent to the means of offence or de-
fence with which all other animals
are gifted by nature. Instead of the
horns of the bull, man makes unto
himself a spear. Instead of the tusks
of the boar, man forms a sword for
himself. Instead of the quills which
protect the porcupine, he covers his
body with a coat of mail. Instead
of the shell which defends the crab,
he wards off the coming blow with
his shield. Besides, man possesses
the additional convenience, that he
needs not always to be encumbered
with horns and teeth, or loaded
with quills, or cased in a shell ; but
can, at his option, either lay them
down or resume them. While other
animals are clothed by nature in
their respective skins and furs, man
covers himself with garments suitable
to the season, which he alternates to
meet the summer's heat and the
winter's cold. While the beast shel-
ters in his den, and the bird seeks
refuge in its nest, man, — gifted with
reason, and enabled by the formation
of his hands to execute what reason
plans, — builds unto himself a stately
dwelling of hewn stones, furnished
with windows, which admit the light
while they exclude the coLJ, and pro-
tected by doors, which, opening to
receive the welcome visiter, are closed
against every prying intruder. That
Which the separate instinct of differ-
ent species enables them to perform,
i man's reason enables him to excel,
and concentrates in him the varied
i mental powers of each separate race.
Their best qualities too, which are
| found separately in various animals,
are all united in man : as the indus-

try of the bee or ant, — the tenderness
of the dove, — the fidelity of the dog,
&c. The allegory of our Rabbles
teaches us, in the Perek Shirah, the
thanks which each species of animals
offers to the Creator ; their meaning
is, that from the natural qualities of
each class of animals a different
moral lesson may be deduced, and a
fresh cause of gratitude to the Crea-
tor be discovered : And the expres-
sion which the Rabbies there use,
tnoiN OH no, " WThat do they say
or pronounce ?" is of the same kind
as, bx TiHD tmsDO tzrstyrr, " The
heavens proclaim the glory of God : "
(Psalm xix. 2 :) As the motions of
the heavenly bodies teach us that
they receive their impulse from the
First Great Mover, who himself is
unmoved, and combines omnipotence
and infinite duration, who ij GOD, —
blessed be HE ! Thus in the Perek
Shirah we find, (as a few instances
out of many,) " What do the dogs
say or pronounce ? ' Let us come
and bow, and kneel, and prostrate
ourselves before the Lord our
Maker.' " (Psalm xcv. 6.) As dogs
are faithful and true to their benefac-
tor, and grateful according to the
extent of their capacities ; so it be-
hoves man. when he contemplates
these qualities implanted in them by
nature, not to neglect the great moral
lesson thus afforded, but to remem-
ber that he, too, has a Benefactor, to
whom all faith and gratitude are
due, to whose boundless goodness
and mercy he owes his being and
preservation, and in humble adora-
tion of whom it is his duty to kneel
an:} to prostrate himself. Again :
"What does the ant say? 'He
giveth food to all flesh ; for his
mercy endureth fur ever." (P?alm
cxxxvi. 28.) When man beholds
this most diminutive creature, which
sedulously in summer toils, gathers,
and stores up each solitary grain
that is to preserve it during the win-
ter season, he is not to neglect the
moral lesson which even this
petty creature can afford him :
Which is, that man, who is gifted
with reason and understanding, is in
duty bound to be industrious, and
not to neglect his avocations : For,
as our Rabbies expounded these
words, "That the Lord thy God

2 F 2

220

EPIC POETRY OF THE HEBREWS,.

may bless thee in all the work of thy
hands which thou doest ;" (Deut. xiv.
2QJ Man is not to say, "As God has
promised blessing and prosperity,
we may pass our days in idleness,
and need not follow or undertake
any occupation ; " therefore Holy Writ
adds, " In all the work of thy hands
which thou doest : " To merit the
Divine blessing, thou must be in-
dustrious and active in whatever
useful pursuit thou undertakest.
Further : Our Rabbies say, " If the
law did not teach us the rights of
property, we might learn that pre-
cept from the ant ; as one ant never
robs or steals from another what it
has touched or found." This is con-
firmed by the observations of natu-
ralists, who have taken a grain away
from one ant, and afterwards put it
within reach of another ; but the lat-
ter, instructed (probably by the
smell) that it had been already
touched and appropriated by another
of her species, passed on without
touching it. Solomon, who was in-
timately acquainted with the laws of
nature, and the instincts of various
animals, probably alludes to this
quality of the ant, when he says,
" Go to the ant, thou sluggard ! be-
hold its ways and become wise. It
has neither prince, governor, nor
ruler. During the summer it pre-
pares its bread, it gathers its food
during harvest : " (Prov. vi. 7 — 9.)
His meaning is, that the sluggard,
whose vicious idleness leads him to
violate the rights of property rather
than to labour for his own support,

ought to take a lesson of justice and
industry from the ant, which, —
although not subject to any prince
or ruler, whose power punishes trans-
gressors, nor controlled by the fear
of .laws and the shame of disrepute,
— nevertheless, by the force of its
laudable habits of industry, is taught
to respect the property of others, and
not to violate their rights. Again :
" What does the dove say ? ' My
dove is in the clefts of the rock.'"
(Cant. ii. 12.) Israelites are assimi-
lated to a dove, because faithful ten-
derness is found in the dove ; as it
is said in the Medrash Chaseth, " As
the turtle-dove is tender, so likewise
is the congregation of Israel. As
the turtle-dove, when once united to
her mate, does not abandon him
for any other ; so likewise the Israel-
ites, having once acknowledged the
Lord, do not abandon him for any
other." These qualities, which are
found singly in various animals, and
from which man may deduce moral
lessons, are, however, all to be found
combined within himself, in accord-
ance with his physical superiority
and mental perfection. Therefore,
as we said before, man ranks higher
than any other terrestrial creature,
and is superior to them in power and
perfection. His wisdom and under-
standing render him the Lord of this
lower world ; as it is said, " Thou
madest him the ruler of the works
of thy hand ; thou hast laid all
things submissive at his feet."
(Psalm viii. 7-)

(To be continued.)

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

SIR, — To you, whose object is to make known and render familiar
the merits of the Hebrew writers, the enclosed Arerses may be, perhaps,
acceptable. They are translated from Rabbi Naphtali Hertz Wessely's
beautiful poem, the niKQn •> Vttf,* " Songs of Glory," to which they are
the introduction. Sensible that they can impart but a very faint idea
of the style and composition of that immortal author, I am only induced
to bring them under your notice by my wish to show to your Christian

'Ttt?, " Songs of Glory," an epic poem in eighteen cantos, by Napthtali Hertz
Wessely; Prague, 1809, (5569,) in 8vo. This, the most beautiful Hebrew composition
of latter times, embodies the History of Exodus until the giving of the law at Sinai.

EPIC POETRY OK THE HEBREWS. 221

readers, that the varied talents of the writers of our nation are not con-
fined to moral and religious subjects. I am, Sir,

4, Bury-street, St. Man/ Axe, Yours very obediently.

Dec. 29th, 1834. E. X.

EPIC POETRY OF THE HEBREW'S.

GLORIOUS in might, thy dwelling high and grand,
O God, all springs from thy creative hand.
Ethereal .spirits, from all substance free,
Arose at thy command, derived their life from thee.
Things high and low thou boldest in thy span :
O. fearful God, then what to thee is man,
That thou shouldst search his heart, explore his views,
And, gracious, midst his race an habitation choose ?

In Eden's garden, planted by thy care,
Thou bad'st him, placed there, to share
Eternal life and bliss, with sense to know
The joys which e'er from boundless wisdom flow.
Had he obey'd, these had he now possess'd :
He sinn'd ; yet, driven from his place of re>t.
Thou neither him nor his didst quite reject :
Thy glorious name thou gav'st, the righteous to protect.

But when the earth itself corrupted grew
By man's foul deeds, thou. righteous to pursue,
Didst cut him off ; thy cup of wrath was still
With mercy sweeten'd, whilst, released from ill,
The righteous thou di'l-t set apart, to save
From the wild rush of the destructive wave :
Blessed by thee, protected from the flood,
Both Xoah and his sons unhurt before thee stood.

Evil increas'd again with men's increase ;
Their erring passions robb'd their hearts of peace.
All moral rules they broke with scornful pride,
Until, confused their speech, each turn'd aside
And rrack'd the earth ; which dark as night had grown,
Had not the glorious light of Abraham shone,
Taught men the folly of their idol-creeds.
And, wond'ring. to behold their mighty Maker's deeds.

The heav'nly firmament, the starry maze,
Proclaim aloud thy never-ending praise ;
So did this pious sage aloud thy grace declare,
Teach men to raise to thee the supplicating prayer ;
To know that here, created not in vain,
By practis'd virtues, it is theirs to gain
A state of endless life, a good degree,
From earthly cares and griefs, from earthly pleasures, free.

222 EPIC POETRY OF THE HEBREWS.

For after-years to him thou Avast reveal'd,
With him alone thy covenant was seal'cl,
Thou chosedst him with thy benignant grace,
From all his father's house : And, childless yet, his race
Mad'st holy to thyself : Their future weal and woe,
Their joys and griefs, permittedst him to know ;
And in a vision, clear of view, to see
The wondrous things to come, the deep futurity.

In his old age thy wonders still appear :
Isaac born to him in his hundredth year,
* When Sarah ninety transient years had seen !
He, as a sacrifice, had nearly been
Consum'd upon thy altar ; had not thy
Angel of mercy, with arresting cry,
Call'd to his father, " This has only been
Thy piety to prove, which now is clearly seen."

The perfect saint, protected by thy love,
Endow'd by thee with worth and force above
The strength of angels, whom, unknowing, he
Compell'd to own his might, was Isaac's progeny.
To him thou cam'st at Bethel, when he paid
The vows which in affliction's time he made ;
And blessing him with happiness and fame,
From Jacob unto Israel thou didst change his name.

Thy chosen people whom thou e'er didst tend,
The tribes of God, those men of fame, descend
From righteous Israel, the lasting vine
Round which the healthy tendrils clinging twine.
Joseph, the branch most fruitful of them all,
When envious blasts and hatred caus'd his fall,
Thou didst to Egypt send, rais'd from the pit,
O'er nations' fates to rule, on kingly thrones to sit.

Then o'er their hearts were bonds fraternal spread,
By thee united : no more did the dread
Of famine or of want disturb the mind
Of Joseph's brethren; for they found him kind,
And of their deeds forgetful. Jacob went
With all his house to Egypt ; and, content,
There found his son, bless'd by the Power Divine.
Whose promises, O God, so lasting are as thine ?

When Israel's sons reacE'd the' Egyptian states,
To them each city gladly ope'd its gates,
Gave them the fruitful lands and fields to share :
Where, bless'd with ease and riches, void of care,
In numbers and in strength they daily grew.
Then rose a mighty nation from the few
Who, for their wants once seeking to provide-,
Now safe amidst the shclt'ring tents of Ham reside.

EPIC POETRY OF THE HEBREWS. 223

Sudden the gloom of night o'erspread their day :
Lost was their power, their minds to grief a prey :
The flock thou guardest found their lot was chang'd ;
And Ham's wild sons, by hate and wrath estrang'd,
Their former friends to harm and injure sought.
Foul arts they tried, and rack'd each evil thought,
Plotting such measures as they might employ,
With savage cruelty and rage, thy people to destroy.

The seed which in the earth despis'd lies low,
At length springs forth ; and then its hlossoms blow,
Producing fruit. So was it with thy vine,
Thy beauteous plant ; at times laid low, supine,
Like to the thorn ; at times when faded, dried
Away in strength, to thee thy people cried,
Imploring aid ; and, looking on their grief,
Thou didst from heaven, in mercy, grant desir'd relief.

Thence on thy servant were thy glories shed ;
With majesty thou crownedst Moses' head ;
Through him the' oppressor, who, in savage pride,
Destroy 'd thy vineyard, durst thyself deride,
Wa-; judg'd and punish'd ; taught to know the might
Of God Supreme, who, from the loftiest height
Of realms celestial, with an outstretch'd arm,
Preserved his chosen race from all impending harm.

This to my brethren loudly to declare
I humbly wish. Hear then, O God ! my prayer !
Deign, O Protecting Might ! my fond desire
To aid, and from thy pure ethereal fire
Some sparks of light upon my soul to throw.
Though form'd of clay, incomparably low,
Thy grace emboldens me to urge my prayer,
Which never is withheld from those who seek thy care.

Thou Good to all ! the Spirit of thy grace
Is pour'd on all that seek thee. Let me trace
The steps through which thou lead'st me in the way
To thy law's chambers ; there to me display
The endless stores of knowledge, which the mind
Thirsts to discover ; as it joys to find •
The only sources of man's good below :
And let me, O my God ! those secret sources know.

Guide thou my thoughts, and make my lips essay
To sing thy praises in my simple lav.
Whilst I thy boundless wisdom's sea explore,
And gather up the gems which strew its shore,
Whilst I admire its depths and wide expanse,
Where new-found wonders every sense entrance,
My course the rushing waves would oft impede ;
Direct and lead me on, my present Help in need !

EPIC POETRY OF THE HEBREWS.

Then shall the hearer of my song be blest,
From sorrow's heavy load his mind shall rest.
As the faint lamp again gleams forth with fire
From the new oil, so shall my lays inspire
The wearied soul, enlighten its dark night,
When I declare thy wonders and thy might,
Moses' thy first of Prophets deeds rehearse,
And all the glories of his time relate in verse.

To me, unworthy, smooth the rugged way,
Cast on my darkness an enliv'ning ray.
For by my song the righteous in thy praise
"Will be more fix'd ; the wicked see his ways,
Turn from his course of folly and of ill,
And in thy law seek to subdue his will,
If in the stream which hurries him along
In vice, he stops but once to listen to my song.

This to the nations shall thy deeds proclaim,
To ev'ry race the wonders of thy name.
They, like ourselves, are objects of thy care,
Works of thy hand. In earlier times they were
Contemncrs of the good : Those of our days
Acknowledge thee, and follow virtue's ways,
To thy great name each knee amongst them bends :
For over all that is, thy glorious might extends.

A je well'd ring to every willing ear,
Healing to each desponding heart, I bear.
This captive host shall saving comfort find ;
Their fathers' deeds, brought present to the mind,
Shall soothe their woes, relieve their load of care,
And show their future prospects bright and fair.
Though o'er them hangs affliction's heaviest rod,
From dire misfortune's depths, their hearts will soar to God.

The wonders which thou wroughtest in the land
Qf Noph, (when forth was stretch'd thy saving hand
To aid thy people,) now shall make them feel
The hopes which gladden, and the joys which heal :
For never yet in vain thine aid was sought.
The slow revolving years shall then be thought
No longer than a day ; whilst loud they sing,
" Happy for us to wait the coming of our King ! "

Now, all my brethren through the east and west,
And other climes dispers'd ; where'er your rest,
Where'er your country, for the time may be ;
List to my words, and praise the Deity,
Whilst the great deeds of our great God I tell,
With all that to our ancestors befel,
And their eventful history display,
When Joseph and his times forgotten pass'd away.

*** J. A. and B. E in our next.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

EIGHTH DAY OF TEBATH, 5595.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1835.

No. 15.

I. OX THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAl> -

(Continued from page 211.)

IT has been perceived, no doubt,
by'.every one, that, whilst reading the
history of by-gone generations, the
mind is very apt to represent them
as it were before the eyes, marked
with those characteristic traits which
the moral qualities attributed to them
are considered to impress upon the
exterior appearance of mankind. No
historian, therefore, more forcibly
arrests our attention, or is better
entitled, to our suffrage, than he, who
combines a masterly and graphic
description of their actions and con-
duct, with an accurate exposition of
the influence of their manners, cus-
toms, and laws, upon the moral cha-
racter and bearing of the people
whose history he narrates.

The moral qualities of the Roman
people appear in no very favourable
light, from the description of their
manners and customs that have
reached us through their history.
What opinion can we form of the
humanity of a whole nation whose
greatest delight consisted in sitting
for hours to witness the sufferings
of their fellow creatures murder-
ing each other, or being torn to
pieces by ferocious animals, in the
arena of their amphitheatres ? Their
so much lauded courage, as might be
expected from this trait in their cha-
racter, would be found too often exr
empt from that humanity, or from
those proper motive 8 for its display,
which alone entitle it to be ranked
among the virtues.

It is not our purpose to treat at
large of the manners, customs, and
laws of this or any other of the an-
cient nations as thev have come down

to us in profane history, or to exhibit
their moral qualities in their true
light ; this has been done by other
and abler hands, to whose writings
we would refer those who deem it of
importance to distinguish the real
from the false gem, — the pure gold
from tinsel. Our subject will be bet-
ter illustrated by confining our re-
marks to the Hebrew people, because,
being the only nation that, from their
origin down to this day, have re-
mained a pure and unmixed race,
possessed of the same law that was
delivered to them when they were
first constituted a nation, they are
especially calculated, above any other
people, to show the effects of the long
operation of a code of laws upon the
moral qualities and bearing of a peo-
ple. One remark, however, we per-
mit ourselves ; it is, that far as the
laws of God exceed in wisdom and
beneficence the moral codes of men,
so do the virtues based on the for-
mer transcend those which have the
latter for their rule.

It has already been said, that there
is no virtue which is not enforced,
no vice that is not denounced, by
that law ; its full observance would,
therefore, imply the possession of
every virtue, and the absence of
every vice. The question might
thence arise, "By which of those vir-
tues would the appearance of the
people be characterized, since it can
scarcely be supposed that the human
countenance can express them all, at
one and the same time ?" But a little
reflection might enable the querist to
answer his own question, for it would
probably occur to him that there is a

•2 G

226 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

countenance which is described as
"beaming with every virtue."

We are not going to contend that
the whole nation of Israelites ever
possessed, in the mass, so benign a
countenance ; but, as there is little
doubt that at some periods when
they dwelt in their own land, they
were, the greater part of them, strict
observers of their law, we may ven-
ture to assert, that, at such periods
of their history, the nation generally
would bear the impress of the various
virtues and good qualities which that
law enforced.

The Israelites may be said to have
been trained to virtue and elevated
sentiments from the remotest period.
We must recollect that the founder
of their race, Abraham, enjoyed the
peculiar honour of being called " the
friend of his God," and of having
been instructed by him in the way
he should walk (Gen. xxvi. 5.) Scrip-
ture describes him as an eminently
virtuous character, and perfect in his
day. Isaac and Jacob appear to have
profited by the superior instruction
which each would have received from
his virtuous parent, on points of the
first importance for man to know.

That those Patriarchs knew well
what constituted the true worth and
dignity of man, is sufficiently appa-
rent from their own actions and con-
duct ; and we may cite, as a further
proof of it, the preference given by
Jacob to Joseph over his other sons;
which his character, resplendent with
the sublimest virtues, shows him to
have been well deserving of from his
discerning parent. What the twelve
sons had learned from Jacob, they
would no doubt impart to their own
offspring ; hence we may infer that
the Israelites, even whilst dwelling
in the land of Goshen, had not only
a true knowledge of their Creator,
but that they already knew, to a cer-
tain extent, what were the ways in
which he required them to walk.
Thus, at the earliest period, this peo-
ple must have possessed many excel-
lent moral precepts, and correct reli-
gious doctrines, handed down to
them by their forefathers, and tend-
ing to prepare them for that fuller
instruction which they were to re-
deye at the outset of their becoming
a nation.

That fuller law was given to them
shortly after leaving Egypt, in the
contemplation of their entering at
once into possession of the land
which had been assigned them, but
which their frowardness occasioned
to be postponed, and themselves
condemned to wander in the wilder-
ness during forty years. Still, the
law they had ; and, though many of
its statutes could not be obeyed in
the wilderness, whilst others were
commanded to be observed only
when they should be settled in
their own land, many, indeed the
greater portion, of its beneficent and
excellent precepts, inculcating every
virtue, might be, and no doubt were,
observed by them whilst wandering
in the wilderness ; where, from their
trials and sufferings, the occasions
would be neither few nor rare for
exercising them in those great and
essential qualities which sustain the
social system, — humanity, kindly
feelings and neighbourly love, charity,
self-government, and restraint of the
passions, &c., &c. This, as it appears,
was the purpose of their trials and
sufferings; for they were told, "And
thou shalt remember all the way
which the Lord thy God led thee
these forty years in the wilderness, to
humble thee, and to prove thee ; to
know what was in thine heart ; whe-
ther thou wouldest keep his com-
mandments or no." (Exod. viii. 2.)

We have no better means for ascer-
taining the effects of the observance
of their law upon the aspect and
bearing of the Israelites ig past times,
than by referring to some of the
incidents in their history, and to
those illustrious individuals in the
Scriptures, whose actions and con-
duct, regulated principally by those
laws and precepts, are described in
language that brings them again, as
it were, before our eyes characterised
with those traits in their countenance
and bearing which are considered
inseparable from the possessors of
virtues such as theirs. Our Hebrew
brethren, we feel persuaded, will fol-
low us with pleasure in the delinea-
tion of the characters of some of the .
brightest examples of their ancestors.

The whole history of Joseph is one
of the most perfect specimens of the
tender and pathetic it is possible

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSE-.

•2-27

to produce. His must be a cold
heart who can read it without par-
taking largely in the feelings which
it is calculated to arouse. Through-
out the whole Scriptures we find no
instance of a more strict observance
in the laws, the statutes, and com-
mandments of God than was prac-
tised by this worthy descendant of
the perfect Abraham. His virtues
are so many, that we might have
been at a loss which to admire most,
were we not led to pay our homage
to that which stands pre-eminent in
the eyes of man, because, without it,
what would be his fate ? Mercy and
forgiveness are the attributes to
which we allude ; and beautifully
did they shine forth in this model of
human perfection. He appears not
to have complained at the time of his
experiencing the ill-treatment of his
brethren, nor to have retained after-
wards the least animosity towards
them for it : Eminently pious, he
repined not ; but, submitting him-
self to the will of his Creator, he took
care in his new situation to render
himself worthy of his favour by the
practice of every virtue. Horror-
struck at the idea of injuring his
master in the tenderest part, he resists
firmly the repeated solicitations of
his unworthy mistress ; and when
cast into prison, through her false
accusation, he suffers patiently and
silently, unwilling to disturb the
peace of his master's mind by a dis-
closure of the real facts of the case.
There his conduct induces the keeper
of the prison to entrust its whole
management to his care. Removed
thence to the court, and raised to the
highest offices in the state, we find
him administeiing the affairs of
the kingdom with exemplary integ-
rity, activity, and profound wisdom.
Those scenes and actions exhibit
him certainly in a light to excite our
admiration, but the succeeding inci-
dents make him appear scarcely
! human, and might have justified the
aJoration of a people, who, observ-
ing in him virtues far transcending
! those usually met with in man, and
i ignorant of the God whose service
; could so elevate and dignify human
nature, mijht have attributed to
him a divine origin. The milder
virtues of Joseph shone forth with

2

the greatest lustre. Those few inquir-
ing words addressed to hisjbrethren,
" Is your father well, the old man of
whom ye spake ? Is he yet alive ? "
speak volumes of tenderness and
affection for his aged parent. At
that interview he sees, for the first
time, since he had been separated
from his family. Benjamin, his only
brother, by the same mother, and
can scarcely restrain himself from
falling upon his neck. Notwith-
standing he had recognised him pre-
viously, he asks, " Is this your
young brother, of whom ye spake
unto me ? And he said, God be
with you, my son." When unable
longer to restrain himself, " he made
haste, for his bowels did yearn upon
his brother. And he sought where
to weep. And he entered his cham-
ber, and wept there. And he wash-
ed his face and went out, and re-
frained himself, and said, Set
on bread." And now comes the
disclosure to his brethren ; it
affords an opportunity for pene-
trating the inmost recesses of the
heart of this beneficent character ;
and how delightful is it to find it
filled with nothing so much as an
anxious desire that the disclosure
should occasion no pain to his bre-
thren. Resentment formed no par-
ticle of his disposition ; vanity and
pride, at his superior fortune and
elevation, were equally foreign to it ;
beneficence and perfect love now
reigned supreme in that breast,
where not a single low thought or
unworthy feeling had ever before
found admission, and could not no-.v
be there to alloy the perfect happi-
ness he experienced in joining again
his family, and in being able to con.
fer benefits upon them, and promote
their welfare. " Then Joseph could
not refrain himself before all them
that stood by him: And he cried,
Cause every man to go out from me
And there stood no man with hiai
while Joseph mads himself known
unto his brethren. And he Wept
aloud : And the Egyptians and the
house of Pharaoh heard. And Jo-
seph said unto his brethren, I ain
Joseph : Doth my father live ? And
his brethren could not answer,* for
they were troubled at his presence
And Joseph said unto his breturen
G 2

228

THE M1SIINA.

Come near to me, I pray you ; and
they came near. And he said, I am
Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold
into Egypt. Now, therefore, be not
grieved, nor angry with yourselves
that ye sold me hither : for God did
send me before you to preserve life."

Noble and generous soul ! May
your bright example shed its benign
influence over the people of the
house of your father Jacob. May it
incite them to imitate you in their
conduct towards their brethren, and
to serve their God, as you did, in all
sincerity of heart ! so shall it be well
with them.

The character and actions of Mo-
ses present themselves next to our
view ; and they exhibit virtues simi-
lar to those of our last example, but
put to severer trials. Though the
meekest of men, we can perceive no
want either of courage or firmness
in this servant of the God of Israel,
when proper occasions called for
their display, which was frequently
enough, in the arduous duty to
which he had been appointed. He
affords a striking illustration of the
superior dignity conferred on the
human character by virtuous actions
and conduct, when founded on pro-
per bases.

His self-denial and complete de-
votion to the people placed under
his care, is beautifully exemplified in
his earnest prayer, that God would
avert his wrath, when he declared
he would destroy them, and make of
him a great nation, because of their
having made and worshipped the
golden calf.

We can perceive in the whole con-
duct of this great and holy man,
none but the purest motives for per-
severing to lead the people, notwith-
standing the danger to which his life
was continually exposed from the ef-

fects of their impatience, arising from
their sufferings. And generations
yet unborn'^ will bave*[to^bless his
memory for maintaining an unparal-
leled courage and fortitude, under
the severest trials, until the whole
will of the Deity had 'been made
known through him. We know not
whether we may be allowed to
ascribe the shining of his counte-
nance, as related in the Scriptures,
to that expression which we are con-
tending would be produced by the
habitual practice of the eminent vir-
tues which he possessed.
i'^ Though the Israelites, as [appears
from their history, have too fre-
quently given occasion for experi-
encing the displeasure of the Deity ;
yet, from the early period in which
they obtained a knowledge of the
true God, and had the advantage of
being instructed by Him, it is
scarcely possible that they could at
any time have been entirely void of
many of those virtues and elevated
sentiments which that knowledge
and instruction were eminently cal-
culated so to engraft upon their
souls as to make them part of their
nature. Among their good qualities
we may trace, from the earliest pe-
riod, a great abhorrence of cruelty
and a humane and merciful disposi-
tion, which they 'possess at this day
in an eminent degree, notwithstand-
ing all those trials and sufferings
that might perhaps have obliterated
them, and caused other feelings and
qualities to take their place, had
they not been derived from that im-
perishable source of their preserva-
tion, their Jaw, which repeatedly,
and in the most energetic manner,
denounces the one, and more fre-
quently and beautifully enforces the
other.:

A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

II. THE MISHNA.

D13DD, Mescheth Aboth : " THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

P!l5 P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

(Continued from page 216.)

ANTJGONUS, a man of Socho, obtained the law from Simon the Just. He used to
say, " Be not like servants who serve their master on condition of receiving arecompence.
But be ye like servants who wait upon their lord without stipulating for or expecting any
reward. And let the fear of Heaven be on you." (I. 3.)

COMMENTARY. Antigonus, a man of the Just — We have already stated,
Socho, obtained the law from Simon that this Simon was the last survivor

THE MISHNA.

•229

of the Great Assembly, to whom the
law was by appointment transmitted.
Henceforward, such among the dis-
ciples as profited most by the instruc-
tions of their teacher are said to have
obtained the law. Among the disci-
ples of Simon, Antigonus was the
most distinguished, and, as such,
appointed his successor, principal
teacher of his acre, and President of
the Sanhedrim

Be ye not like servants who serve
their master on condition of receiving
a recompense — What is here said
does not contradict the words of the
law, in which Moses so frequently
says to the Israelites, If you obey
the Lord your God, you will prosper ;
if you disobey, you will snffer : As
for instance, " If you walk according
to my statutes, keep my command-
ments, and do them ; then I will
send you rain in due season, and the
land shall yield her increase," &c.
(Lev. xxvi. 4.) " Thou shalt observe
therefore his statutes and com-
mandments, that it may be well with
thee and with thy children after
thee." (Deut. iv. 40.) In the Deca-
logue we read, " Honour thy father
and mother ; that thy days may be
prolonged, and that it may be well
with thee," &c. (Deut. v. 16.) In
the Talmud we likewise read : " The
man who saith, ' I bestow this coin
in charity, that my son may live, or
that I myself may have a share in
the life to come ; ' is perfectly right
in so doing." (Treatise Rosh hashanah,
folio 4.) But all these instances are
not contradicted by the maxim of
Antigonus. The man is right who
serves the Lord in the hopes of meet-
ing his reward. But if the reward
which he expects is delayed, and
does not follow, he is not to say, " I
am disappointed of my due ; " but
he is to rest assured that the ways of
the Lord are not like the ways of
man, and that though for a time he
may not meet with the recompence
which his good deeds merit, yet the
justice of the Lord leaves not the
righteous unrewarded. And, though
it does so happen, that in this world
the virtuous often suffers, while the
wicked prospers; (as the Preacher
eaith, " There are righteous men
who suffer as if they committed
the «vil deeds of the wicked,

and wicked men who prosper as if
their deeds were righteous ;" Eccles.
viii. 14 ;) yet the wise and pious
man is not thereby led into error 5
and if his fate is such as ought to
befal the wicked, he does not grieve,
or renounce obedience to the Divine
command. For the wise man knows
that all earthly joys are vain, and
that another and a better world awaits
him. He knows that the Holy One
(blessed be HE 1) is righteous and
just, does not disregard those who
serve him truly, leaves no being
without its adequate recompence, and
more especially those whose obedi-
ence he himself has promised to
reward. He knows, moreover, that
the untoward events which befal the
righteous tend to his eternal welfare.
Therefore, thus to serve the Lord,
through good or evil report, and to
look for a reward, not here, but here-
after, is pious and laudable. But the
man, on the contrary, who serves the
Lord, without any knowledge of his
true attributes, and in the expecta-
tion of immediate reward, — like the
artizan, who, working, by the piece,
expects his pay the instant his labour
is completed, and who, if not re-
warded to the moment, regrets hia
labour as lost, — such a man, and his
service, are alike unacceptable. This
our instructer conveys by using the
words w".S Wpb, " to receive a re-
compence or pay by the piece ; " D"®
being derived from PCTD, "part or
piece."

But be ye like servants who wait
upon their lord without stipulating for
or expecting any retcard — Here our
instructer teaches us, that we are not
to be unwilling servants of the Lord.
In his first maxim he teaches, that,
in performing the duties prescribed
by the law, we are not to look for
any immediate or temporal advan-
tages, and not tc make our obedience
a subject of traffic or barter ; " so
much serrice for so much reward ;"
— as this would be contrary to that
true spirit of religion which pervades
the whole of the law. In this his
second maxim he gives us a lesson of
practical benevolence, which, outstep-
ping the precise line of duty, devotea
itself to the service of the Deity out
of love and veneration, without any
view of ulterior reward whatsoever.

230

THE MISHNA.

For, although man is perfectly con-
vinced that the Divine justice leaves
no good deed without its reward, yet
such is the purity of mind acquired
by the pious, that, in his motives, he
is actuated solely by love to and
veneration for his Creator ; so that
he entirely loses sight of any good
that may result to himself in his per-
fect devotion to his Maker : And this
is the true nature of benevolence, —
to do good solely for the sake of
God, and without any thought of self.
Such is the comment of Siphri on the
words, "Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God." (Deut. vi. 5.) "How
are we to love the Lord ? The an-
swer is given by Holy Writ : 'And
the words which I command theethis
day shall be on thy heart ;' if men
obey the will of the Lord as if he
delighted in their obedience, which
is called mrtl r(~b, ('a sweet sa-
vour,') delighting the Divine Spirit
by a due performance of his pre-
cepts." The Talmud likewise says,
" Thy commandments are my great
desire." (Psalm cxix. 143.) " R. Ele-
azar saith, Thy commandment, not
the reward of these commandments ;
that is to) say, he loves his Creator
and his commandments, for their
own sakes, and without any ulterior
view of advantage to himself."
(Treatise Avodah Sarah, folio 19-)

And let the fear of Heaven be on
you — By "the fear of Heaven" he
does not so much mean " dread of
punishment," as " awe at the infinite
greatness and might of the Creator."
This third maxim is in reference to
Divine worship, which can never
be truly pure, unless the inind of the
worshipper is filled with the senti-
ment recommended by this maxim.
The question may, however, arise :
" How is it possible that he whose
mind is so perfectly imbued with
piety and benevolence, as to be
actuated solely by the love of God,
should stand in need of this third
precept, as such love of God founded
on his infinite goodness must be
accompanied by veneration founded
on his infinite greatness?" The
answer is, The maxim is derived from
a profound knowledge of the human
heart. And in it our instructer con-
veys to us a most sage and salutary
precept. For, as we ought to serve

the Deity with pure love and delight,
(as it is said, " Because thou didst
not serve the Lord thy God with
gladness and a joyous heart," Dent,
xxviii. 4 ; and also, " I am overjoyed
at thy word," Psalm cxix. 152;
" Thy evidences are unto me an.
everlasting inheritance, because they
are the delight of my heart," Psalm
cxix. Ill,) we might be tempted to
suppose, that, inasmuch as love is a
purer feeling than awe, we may
discard the fear of the Lord. There-
fore our instructer teaches us, that
we are not to confide too implicitly
in the purity of our own motives :
For sometimes the light of religion
is obscured in the soul. In the days
of adversity, when grief and suffer-
ing prey on man, he may be tempted
to repine ; and if, at such a time, his
evil passions threaten to overwhelm
him, the only effectual means of re-
sisting them is the fear of the Lord.
The three principles which our
instructer here inculcates are, in the
prophetic writings, called 1D1O, ge-
nerally rendered " morality." The
root from which this word is deri-
ved is ID11, "to bind or tie;" and
the meaning is " to bind down the
powers of the soul, within the limits
which wisdom has assigned to
them." This binding down is caused
by the fear of the Lord ; as Solomon
saith, " The fear ^f the Lord binds
down wisdom." (Proverbs xv. 33.)
And further he saith, " Listen, my
son, and receive my word, and they
will increase thy years of life. I
have taught thee the way of wisdom,
I have conducted thee on the path
of piety ; that when thou walkest thy
steps may not become weary, when
thou runnest thou shalt not stumble.
Hold fast by "1D1D, morality, and
leave it not, guard it with care, for
it is thy life." (Prov. iv. 10.) The
same maxims which our instructer
teaches us are here impressed on our
minds. Solomon commences with
exhorting us to fear the Lord ; there-
fore he says, " Receive and hearken
to my words, and they will increase
thy years of life ; for the fear of the
Lord leadeth to life." (Ibid.)
These words he addresses to those
who have attained the high degree
of wisdom to serve the Lord with
pure love. To these he further says,

DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIES. 231

" I have taught thee the way of wis- est not stumble in thy course of life,

dom;" having before thee the light it is not sufficient for thee to serve

of the law. " I have conducted thee the Lord out of pure love, and with-

on the paths of piety ;" the path of out any selfish feeling : No, my son!

him who, beyond the imperative die- Hold fast by *i~T2, " morality,"

tates of duty, attains that true prac- which bindeth thee to the fear of

tical benevolence which does good God ; be careful to guard it, for thy

for the sake of God alone and free eternal life depends thereon. Thus

from every selfish admixture. But, the doctrines of Solomon perfectly

in order " that thy steps may not coincide with the maxims of Anti-

become weary," and that thou may- gonus of Socho.
(To be continued.)

*** THE apparent contradiction between the words of Moses in the law,
and the maxim of Antigonus of Socho, does not appear to be sufficiently
solved by the commentary of our author. The true reason why Moses in
the law promises earthly rewards for the observance of his commandments,
is not that he excludes the higher recompence to which righteousness
aspires, or that still more perfect piety which serves the Lord out of purelove,
and avoids transgression, out of profound veneration, without permitting
the hope of reward or the fear of punishment to influence our motives as
the Mishnic instructer recommends ; but that Moses, as legislator, addresses
an entire nation, composed of individuals gifted with various degrees of
mental and moral powers. To all he gives laws, which it is in the power
of all to obey, and the due observance of which cannot but be followed by
great national prosperity. But to those among them who are gifted with a
more enlarged mind and nobler sentiments, his law and its observance is
the great sympathetic means of attaining that pure and disinterested bene-
volence which doe- good for the sake of the Author of all good, and inde-
pendent of all secondary considerations. The intention of Moses is, more-
over, to render evident the truth of those laws which the Deity through
him has enacted. And what more powerful evidence could he afford to an
entire people, than the general prosperity resulting from obedience, or the
general adversity occasioned by the disobedience of these laws r — But the
sublime spirit of the very legislation which says, " Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God," teaches the individual the same pure precept which
Antigonus inculcates. — EDIT.

HI. DIDACTIC POETRY OF THE RABBIES.

Bechinath Olam : " AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE MORAL WORLD."

(Continued from page 217.)
CHAPTER vii.* If created with an ulterior aim, I

IF, O my soul! thou shouldst in f ,ab™; *S£& £%alP£

any way take steps like unto these, I hands' ^ **£» to fu\ffl *•

would I had never lived ! P ,urP°tse for wh, lch l ,arVent' what

If my whole travel and journey be SS3T *£ ' ^ ' " " '""

yet short of the desired port, what ,,-. . } c " • ,, ., . .,
J.li,1 „, c . r ', , \>hat profit m all this, if sent

avails the length of time employed ,.., .£ , . , , ,

v } hither for certain objects, feeble-

handed as I am, plagued with the

• The author here generalizes the evfla propensity of loitering, and stricken
pointed out in the two last chapters, and With a bent to waste ?
laments man's moral negligence. — TRANS. Where is the good or wisdom of

232

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS

dwelling in this frail mortal habita-
tion, be it for a long or short time,
if in beholding the good and the evil
I neither comprehend nor exert my
knowledge, how to make choice of
the good i

Although I may say unto myself,
" How sweet are my ways to my
taste ! how agreeable in my eyes are
all my sentiments !" will my choice
be confirmed? will my words be
credited ?

If the path I select be pleasing to
my soul, will it be pleasing in the
eyes of the Lord ?

Will the road I tread in pride be
the right one because I have thought
it so ?J

Shall I become powerful because
my imagination has anointed me a
king ?

Will my false notions be acknow-
ledged in the court of the Eternal
King, or durst I presume on my own
contemptible opinion, when the
counsel of the Holy One subverts it,
or venture on words the end of
which may prove bitter ?

CHAPTER viii.*

THIS world is a tempestuous
ocean, a vast profound, an immea-
surable expanse ; and time a totter-
ing bridge built over it, one of the
extremities of which is connected
with the chaotic nonentity that pre-
ceded its known existence, while the
other extends to the view of that
eternal glory illuminating the pre-

* The moral state of the world. — TRANS.

sence of he Divine King ; its breadth,
is but a cubit, and the protecting
parapets are gone.

Thou son of man, who, forced
into life, art from thy birth passing
over it ; say, when thou regardest
the narrowness of the path, without
a passage to turn to the right or to
the left, wilt thou boast of power or
fame ?

When thou perceivest destruction
and death raising a rampart on thy
right and left, will thy heart remain
steady, or thy hands keep firm ?

Even shouldest thou glory in the
delight of possessions and great sub-
stance which thou hast collected,
grasped with thy hands, procured
by thy bow, or meanly stooped
to entangle in thy net ; what wilt
thou do with the tempest of this sea
and its billows, when its foaming
surges swell and overflow, so that
even 'thy temporary habitation is
threatened with destruction ?

Behold this great sea in the midst
of which thou art ! Canst thou tri-
umph over it, or domineer over its
powers ? Go forth I pray, thee, try
and give it battle.

Nay, even when intoxicated with
pride, thou dost reel and Vevel with
sweet pomegranate-juice, thou art
decayed ; and, notwithstanding thy
haughtiness, thou wilt by degrees be
tossed here and there, until in an
instant sunk in whirling eddies,
irrecoverable, unrevenged, from
depth to depth wilt thou be tossed,
lost in the labyrinth of seas, with no
one to call for thy return.

IV. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. III.

(Continued from page 166 J

As the compilation of the Mishna,
however, was not sufficiently explicit
for those who succeeded our holy
Rabbi and his age, his disciple, R.
Chiia, found it needful to compose a
work in the manner of his teacher,
in order to solve some doubts in the
great work the Mishna. This work
is called NnSDttl, Tosephta, " the ad-
ditions ;" which, with great exertion,
he accomplished. R. Hosea and Rab
likewise wrote a work, called WD^^,

Beraitha, " explanation," which con-
tains two parts, N25D, Sephra, and
^Q^D, Siphri. These likewise con.
tain explanations and comments on
the text of the Mishna ; as do many
other works composed about that time
and for the same'purpose. But the
language of these various nin'lV'n, or
" explanations," was not so pure and
concise, nor the method so well ar-
ranged and perspicuous, as that of the
Mishna itself; therefore the Mishna

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF H-.BBIXICAL -WRITERS.

233

remained the principal source of in-
struction, to which the others were
but auxiliary works. The genera-
tions succeeding our holy Rabbi
placed the highest value on his work,
as one of standard authority, which
they constantly studied and consult-
ed. The Rabbles of latter times
strove, each according to the extent
of his capacity, to understand and to
illustrate the precepts of the Mishna;
but, in the application of these pre-
cepts to various and particular cases,
a great variety of opinions was en-
gendered and maintained by different
Rabbies, which continued to be the
case until the times of R. Abina and
R. Ashi, the last of the Talmudic
Sages. R. Ashi devoted himself to
the composition of the Talmud. In
the same manner as our holy Rabbi
had compiled and embodied in the
Mishna all the various decisions from
the days of Moses until his own age ;
so did R. Ashi likewise compile and
embody in the Talmud the various
opinions and decisions from the days
of R. Jehuda Hanasi down to the
period in which he flourished. Gift-
ed by the Deity with a comprehen-
sive mind, great love of wisdom, and
acute penetration, he collected and ar-
ranged the various opinions of differ-
ent teachers, the expositions of com-
mentators, and the profound re-
searches of skilful investigators ; all
of which form the Gemara. His
principal objects in undertaking this
vast compilation were fourfold : 1.
To expound the Mishna, and to col-
lect all the different opinions and as-
sertions of the various commentators,
together with the reasonings which
they adduced, in order by that means
to arrive at the true meaning of the
Mishna. 2. To decide between con-
flicting opinions, not only in the
Mishna itself, but likewise in the va-
rious works written to illustrate that
great compilation. 3. To preserve
the decisions which the Sages, after
the composition of the Mishna, had
established on the authority of its
precepts, and the arguments by which
these decisions were thus deduced ;
and also the ordinances and regula-
tions which had been enacted subse-
quent to the compilation of the
Mishna. 4. To state such sermons
and moral reflections as, on various

occasions, had been called forth by
the precepts of the Mishna. A su-
perficial observer might consider
these sermons and reflections as of
little value ; whereas, in fact, they
are of the greatest importance ; for
they contain the most acute enigmas,
and the most precious and sublime
thoughts ; and he who investigates
them maturely and attentively will
there discover a morality the most
pure in its nature ; truth divine which
these Sages purposely shrouded with
the veil of allegory, and the most
important facts which the philoso-
phic researches of their age had dis-
covered. Some of these sermons
are so obscure and unintelligible
that, at first sight, they appear con-
trary to common sense and every-
day experience ; but beneath tke rug-
ged shell of apparent incongruity,
the deepest treasures of wisdom
are hidden. This method was not
adopted inadvertently. Their object
was to prevent abuses, by rendering
their sublime ideas accessible to him
only whose mind, by means of pro-
per instruction and practical wisdom,
was duly prepared to appreciate them ;
and by placing them beyond the
reach of him whose uncultivated
mind was not only incapable of bene-
fitting by them, but might be misled
by their profundity. Even in their
communications to each other, these
Sages were most reserved ; and only
laid aside this restraint to such of
their disciples or companions whose
comprehensive minds and virtuous
principles rendered them worthy of
unlimited confidence. Thus we find
in the Talmud, (treatise Chagiga,
folio 13,) one of the Rabbies who
was conversant with the "_';:~
MlDlon, (" the vision of Ezekirl,'")
addressed some other Sages who
were conversant with rvtivi
(." the works or secrets of creation,")
and proposed to them, " Teach me
your wisdom, and I will teach you
mine." He certainly was not envious
of their knowledge, nor did he
intend to say, " Unless you teach
me, 1 will not teach you." But his
meaning was, " As you are possessed
of such high wisdom, you are worthy
that I should teach you what I know ;
and you will not think me unworthy

2 H

234

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

of learning what you know." So
that it was not envy, or a wish that
another might not profit by their
attainments, which actuated these
excellent and pious characters. Ac-
cordingly this Sage supports his pro-
posal by quoting the words of Solo-
mon : " Honey and milk is under
thy tongue :" (Cants iv. 11 :) Which
is thus explained : Wisdom, which
delights the soul, as milk and honey
are pleasant to the palate, must be
hidden under the tongue ; not obvious
to every rude and uncultivated mind.
In these allegorical sayings, the
most sublime mysteries are often
hidden; and when the Most High
deigns to remove the obstructions
of ignorance from the mind of him
who, in purity of heart and with all
his might, endeavours to attain wis-
dom, then he becomes capable of
understanding the lofty meaning
veiled under their parabolical ex-
pressions. In addition to all the
research and vigour of the human
understanding, in aid of all our ef-
forts to attain wisdom, we have great
need to implore the Divine assist-
ance, and ardently pray that it may
be vouchsafed unto us to penetrate
into the true meaning of the wisdom
of his law and precepts. Thus we
find that David prayed : " Open my
eyes, that I may see the wonders of
thy law." (Psalm cxix. 18.) And
he whose mind's eye the Deity thus
deigns to enlighten, will soon dis-
cover how proper it is that such pro-
found wisdom should not be exposed
to the abuse of the corrupt or the
stolid. In the Talmud we are there-
fore repeatedly told, that the com-
munications and instructions of the
Rabbies were restricted by the dic-
tates of prudence and caution, nor
were they ever imparted to any other
than to those whose minds were pro-
perly trained and prepared by a due
course of previous instruction ; so
that no abuse could or should result
from their precepts. They kept in
mind the precept of Solomon :
" Speak not to the ears of the fool,
lest he contemn the wisdom of thy
words." (Prov. xxiii. 9.) Nor was
this the only reason for their clothing
their wisdom in the guise of allego-
ries and parables ; but it was also in
their days a favourite method of in-

structing the ignorant, such as wo-
men and children, — as it is found
that sententious parables become
more strongly impressed on the me-
mory than almost any other system
of instruction. And therefore Solo-
mon says, " To understand similes
and parables, sayings of the wise and
their enigmas." (Prov. i. 6.) There-
fore our Rabbies (peace be with
them !) delivered their instruction
in sayings which the superficial or
narrow-minded may consider as tri-
vial : This, however, is very errone-
ous, nor must the blame be imputed
to them, but to our want of wisdom
and penetration, if we fail to disco-
ver their true meaning. For as dif-
ferent as are the physical powers of
men, so likewise are their mental
and moral powers ; so that one can
penetrate and understand that which
to another remains incomprehensi-
ble : Thence it results, that the same
maxim which to one mind appears
quite clear and proper, is to another
utterly incongruous and wrong. For
instance : If we question a man who
in other respects is learned, — say a
physician, a musician, or botanist, —
but who is ignorant of algebraical
and astronomical science, " What is
thy opinion of yonder astronomer,
who asserts that the disc of the sun,
which to our eyes appears but a small
circle, is actually 166 times and three
eighths the size of our terrestrial globe;
which latter, according to measure-
ment, is found to have a circumfer-
ence of 24000 miles ; and that, con-
sequently, the exact size of the solar
disc may easily be calculated ? " The
man to whom we address this ques-
tion would hardly assent to the pos-
sibility or truth of stich a calculation,
but would, reasonably, as he in his
opinion conceives, deny the assertion
of the astronomer, and would in his
turn ask : " How is it possible that
man, placed on such a small space
of earth as he occupies, should, at
the immense distance which he is
placed from the sun, not only mea-
sure its size, but do this to such
nicety as to determine the precise
fractional three-eighths ? " He would
scout the presumptuous folly of the
astronomer, and declare these asser-
tions to be fabulous inventions.
Whereas he, on the contrary, whose

MORALITY OF THE RABB1ES.

235

mind is accustomed to the study of
mathematics and astronomy, would
not hesitate to avouch the truth of
these assertions, or even to demon-
strate them. And yet how faint is
this example compared to the sub-
ject of Vhich we are treating ! For
he who does not possess a knowledge
of the Divine wisdom is truly igno-
rant of whatever regards its mys-
teries ; and would never assent to
the possible justness of any of its
assertions. Therefore, it behoves us
to respect these sermons and para-
bles ; and to endeavour to investi-
gate and penetrate their meaning, so
' as thereby to profit ; but in no case
are we to impute the blame to them
if we fail in our investigations. When
we meet with any of their sayings
which to us appear extraordinary or
startling, we are to endeavour by
intense study, if possible, to attain
their meaning : For, although these
sages of the olden times devoted
themselves, with the most ardent
thirst, to the acquisition of wisdom ;
although their ideas were most pure,
their industry indefatigable, their
intercourse restricted to the truly
good and wise ; and though the
world, with all its temptations and
passions, did not influence them ;
they nevertheless admitted and re-
gretted their mental inferiority to
their great predecessors, whenever
they had occasion to advert to iheir
own talents. Thus we read in the
Talmud: (Treatise Erubin, folio 23 :)
" The hearts of our ancestors were

wide open, like the <ates of a tem-
ple : Ours, on the contrary, are nar-
row, like the eye of a needle."
What, then, alas ! can be said of us
of the present day, who are alto-
gether abandoned by wisdom ? * as
it has been predicted by our pro-
phets : " The wisdom of his wise
men shall be lost, and the under-
standing of his sages shall be con-
cealed." (Isaiah xxix. 14.) The
causes of our ignorance are fourfold :
1. The want of sense. 2. The pre-
dominance of the passions. 3. Apa-
thy in the search of wisdom. 4.
Eagerness in the search of gain and
temporal advantages. It therefore
is our own fault alone, and all blame
is due to us only, if we fail to under-
stand their profound but hidden
wisdom. He who is impressed with
a due sense of his own defects, who
knows how very limited is his men-
tal capacity and how his heart and
mind are assailed and clouded by
worldly cares and worldly tempta-
tions, will respect, though he cannot
comprehend, them. He only whose
better feelings are obnubilated by
folly, whose arrogant passions ob-
tain complete mastery over his soul,
— he alone will be found sufficiently
hardened to scoff at that wisdom
which is beyond the reach of his
gross and corrupt faculties.

• If such was the pathetic lamentation
of Maimonides some six hundred years ago,
what can be said of us in this boasted
nineteenth century ? — EDIT.

(To be continued.)

V.

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

pIS n:nty, Schmonah Perakim Lera^nbam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAI.MOXIDE*.
(Continued from page 197.)

IT is as impossible thatjman should
be born virtuous or vicious by nature,
as it is impossible that he should be
born master of any particular art or
profession by nature. But it is pos-
sible that through natural causes he
may from his birth be gifted with a
greater or less inclination towards
j any particular virtue or vice, the
practice of which, consequently,
becomes more easy to him. As an

2

instance of this natural disposition
and of the facilities which it engen
ders, we say, The man, the organiza-
tion of whose brain is tender, and
who is not overloaded with fluids,
will much more easily perceive, un-
derstand, and retain what is taught
him, than he whose temperament is
more humid, and whose brain is
more cumbered with fluids. But if
the first, notwithstanding his greater

236

MORALITY OF THE RABBJES.

natural abilities, is neglected, and
left entirely without instruction, his
powers will remain dormant and
himself ignorant. While, on the
other hand, he whose natural abili-
ties afford less facility, but who is
instructed and kept in constant prac-
tice, will gradually overcome all
impediments and become learned.
In the same manner, he whose blood
is hotter than is necessary, is by
nature gifted with the requisite qua-
lity which constitutes a hero ; and
requires but a proper opportunity to
display himself as such. On the
other hand, he whose blood is too
cold, is by nature inclined to be a
coward ; and, when the trying mo-
ment comes, will doubtless stamp
himself as such. But although_it will
be difficult to render him valiant,
contrary to the bent of his nature,
nevertheless, constant exertion and
exposure to danger iintil it becomes-
familiar to him, will not fail to pro-
duce due effect. We have entered
fully into this subject, in order that
no one may be tempted to believe
the mad invention of astrologers,
who falsely assert, that the instant
in which a man is born, and the
planetary aspect at his birth, are of
themselves sufficient to render him
virtuous or vicious ; and that he is
consequently predestined and forced
to a particular line of conduct. We
are, however, fully convinced that
our holy law agrees with the philo-
sophy of the Greeks, which satis-
factorily proves that man in all
his actions ard undertakings is
gifted with free-will; and that no
external influence can constrain him
to be either virtuous or vicious,
except indeed inasmuch as he may,
according to what we have already
stated, be, by nature or the force of
temper, prone or inclined towards
any particular perfection or defect.
But there is no action whatsoever
which he is absolutely compelled to
perform or to abstain from : For
were man subject to the constraint
of absolute necessity or fatality, all
the commands and prohibitions of
the law would at once become void
and nugatory ; the whole would be
a complete fallacy, inasmuch as man
then has no freedom of volition orli-
\>ertv of choice in what he doe^. Vain

would be all study or instruction,
useless the attempt to acquire any
art or science ; all man's efforts
would be idle, if an external in-
fluence can dictate and prescribe to
him, " Thus shalt thou act and not
otherwise." Were man compelled,
according to this^opinion of astro-
logers, to perform certain actions
independent of his own will, to ac-
quire certain sciences or to possess
certain qualities, without any active
co-operation of his own ; — were all
this true, then rewards or punish-
ments would be either the most un-
fair partiality or the most cruel
injustice, as well in regard to the
dealings of men with each other, as
also in regard to their duties towards
their Creator. For yonder Simeon,
who murdered Reuben, had no
choice, because he was constrained
by fatality to commit the murder, as
his victim was predestined to be
murdered. With what justice can
he, then, be subjected to punish-
ment ? How can a most righteous
and just God chastise him for a deed
which it was not possible for him to
leave undone? and which, though
he strove with all his might to avoid,
he nevertheless was blindly impelled,
contrary to his own inclination and
purpose, to perform ? In this case,
all measures of precaution would
likewise be vain and useless ; — such
as laying a proper foundation while
building a house, or exercising due
care in the disposal of property, or
to withdraw from danger when
threatened with eAal, &c., — as what-
ever is predestined must happen, and
no human prudence can avert it.
How obviously false, hew plainly
contrary to reason and common
sense, how directly subversive of the
fundamental principles of all law, is
not this supposition ! Far be it
from us to attribute such manifest
injustice to the Deity ! In reality,
it is an unquestionable fact, that
man's actions are all dependent on
his own free-will, without any abso-
lute or irresistible necessity to con-
trol him. This free-will renders him
capable of obedience or disobedience,
and makes it possible to hold him
accountable to the commands of the
law. It is said, " Behold I this day
place before thee life and the good,

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

•237

and death and the evil ; and thou
shalt choose life." (Deut. xxx. 15.)
Thus, liberty of choice was left to
man ; the consequence is, that obe-
dience is rewarded and disobedience
punished. The duty to learn and to
teach was enjoined, as it is written,
" Ye shall teach them to your child-
ren;" (Deut. vi. 7;) "Ye shall
learn them, and be careful to per-
form it ; " (Deut. v. 1 ;) with many
other similar passages relating to
this subject. Prudence and precau-
tion are likewise duties the observ-
ance of which is strictly commanded :
As it is written, " When thou build-
est a new house, thou shalt erect a
railing round thy roof, and not bring
the guilt of homicide on thy house."
(Deut. xxii. 8.) Other precepts of
the same kind are numerous in the
law and in the Prophets.

The maxim which our Rabbies
laid down, namely, that " every
thing is in the power of Providence
except the fear of God," is most
true and in perfect accordance with
what we have here stated. Man is,
however, prone to err, and often
supposes that actions which are
purely the result of his own free-will
are owing to some external, unavoid-
able influence. As, for instance,
that they are to espouse a certain
woman, or to acquire a certain for-
tune, &c. But such suppositions
are untrue and unfounded. For that
woman, whom he has married by
virtue of a matrimonial contract and
legal espousals is his lawful wife :
He has married her to fulfil the
Divine command, " Increase and
multiply." This is obedience to the
•will of God, which, according to the
Rabbinical maxim, is left to the free-
will of man. And if his espousals
were unlawful, then his matrimonial
connexion is a transgression, and
sinful. And the Holy One (blessed
be He !) predestines no man to sin.
Again : If a man robs his neighbour,
or steals from him, cheats, denies
having received a loan or payment,
and supports such denial by a false
oath ; — were that man to say, " It
was predestined that this sum must
pass from the possession of my
neighbour into my hands;" he
would accuse the Deity of pre-
ordaining sin ; which is utterly

untrue. As it thus remains un-
questionable that all human actions
are the result of man's free-will,
be they in accordance witi his
duties, or opposed to them ; and
as we have already in our
second chapter explained, that the
active observance or transgression of
commands in the Divine law are
the result of our own free-will, which
likewise decides on the purity of our
fear and obedience, neither of which
is predestined by providence ; the
question then naturally arises,
"What then is the meaning of the
rabbinical maxim, ' Every thing is in
the power of providence?'" The
answer is, They mean the natural
course of events, which are not in-
fluenced by the will of man : as, for
instance, whether he is to be tall or
short of stature, whether the season
is to be rainy or dry, whether the
air is to be clear or hazy ; and all
other events which have no connec-
tion with the actions or purposes of
man.

In laying down this maxim, that
obedience or disobedience to the Di-
vine laws depends solely on the will
of man, our Rabbies followed the
dictum of the prophet Jeremiah of
blessed memory, who saith, " From
the mouth of the Most High pro-
ceedeth neither good nor evil." (La-
ment, iii. 38.) By " good" he means
virtue, and by "evil "rice,- and he
accordingly says, The Holy One
(blessed be He !) does not pre-ordain
any man to be virtuous or vicious.
And, as such is the fact, it behoves
man to mourn for his evil deeds, as
the Prophet further saith, " How
greatly ought living man to mourn
for his sins!" (Lamentations iii.
39-) He continues to tell us, that
the remedy for this our soul's
disease is in our own power ; and as
our misdeeds were the fruits of our
own free-will, so we have likewise
the liberty of choice to retrace our
steps, to abandon our evil ways and
repent of our sins ; as he saith, " Let
us search and investigate our deeds,
and return to the Lord ; let us lift up
our hearts and hands to God who is
in heaven." (Lament, iii. 39.)

The common-place saying adopted
amongst men, and which we likewise
find in some of the prophetic writ-

238

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

ings, namely, that man's sitting-
down or rising, and indeed every one
of his movements, is according to
the will and decree of Providence ;
— this saying is true in one respect.
For he who throws a stone into the
air, and sees it fall back on the
ground, is justified in saying, "This
stone fell to the ground according to
the will of God ;" as the Divine will
has appointed the earth to be the
centre of attraction, and therefore
whatever is thrown up into the air is
drawn back to this central point.
In like manner, all the different par-
ticles of flame ascend ; because the
first Great Will decreed, that such
should be their general law. But it
is wrong to suppose, that at the time
this particular stone is thrown, or
this particular flame is lighted, and
not till then, the Divine will decrees
what direction either is to take.
Dialecticians are of a different opi-
nion : They assert, that the Deity,
at the time of every particular occur-
rence, decides the preci.se manner
and moment in which it is to be
done. We, however, do not agree
with them ; but, on the contrary,
maintain, that the Divine will, dur-
ing the six days of creation, laid
down and determined fixed and cer-
tain laws for the constant regulation
of nature; as Solomon said, "As it
was, so it will ever be : As it was
made, so it continues, and there is
nothing entirely new under the sun."
(Eccles. i. 9.) This occasioned our
Rabbies to maintain, that all won-
ders which seem to depart from the
ordinary course of nature, — whether
they have already occurred, or are,
according to the promises of Holy
Writ, hereafter to occur, — were pre-
ordained by the Divine will during
the six days of creation ; and that
nature then was arranged in such a
manner that at the proper time
and season the miraculous events
occur in the regular course
decreed by Providence. Those
who witnessed such an occurrence
might consider it an innovation on
the laws of nature ; whereas in
reality it was no such thing.

In the commentaries on Eccle-
siastes and likewise in other books,
this subject has been treated of more
at large ; and the result of all our

investigations is, that nature pursues
the course which has been appointed,
and obeys the laws which have been
laid down for her. And, generally,
our Rabbies (peace be with them !)
were far from maintaining that as
time progressed, the Divine will de-
termined^each particular event as it
occurred. And when therefore they
said, that men's rising up and sitting
down were in accordance with the
Divine will, their meaning was, that
the Deity had once for all so deter-
mined the nature of man at the time
of creation, that sitting down, and
getting up, and the other movements
of the body, should be optional to,
man. Nor is the will of Providence
at present any further concerned in
the movements of the human body
than it is concerned in the fall-
ing of the stone; both being in
obedience to general laws once laid
down and decided on. The great
principle by which it behoves us to
abide is, that as it pleased the Holy
One (blessed be HE !) to create man
with an erect stature, a full chest,
and flexible fingers, so was it like-
wise his pleasure that man should
move or rest of his own accord, and
act as his own free-will prompts him,
without being subject to any external
influence or impediment. This is
fully apparent from the law of truth,
which elucidates this subject to us
when it says,

ini mto njrfr UDD "into rr>rt DINH jn

" Behold man is become like one of
us to distinguish good from evil."
(Genesis iii. 22.) This the Chaldee
paraphrast Onkelos explains to us
as follows: " Man is now become-
the only being throughout the uni-
verse, who can, of his own accord
and by his own will, know good and
evil, and perform either the one or
the other as his own inclinations,
free from all external influence, may
prompt him. Nor is there any other
terrestrial creature, who equals him ;
so that he stands alone of his kind
on earth/'

As it is thus essential in the exist-
ence of man, that he shall, according
to his own free and uncontrolled
will, do good or evil, it becomes ne-
cessary to teach him how to pursue
the good ; to command and exhort, to

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS. 239

punish and reward him, according to have attained that degree of force

the dictates of rigorous justice. It that he can nolonger overcome or al-

also behoves him to accustom him- ter.his habitudes: For there is no habit

self to the practice of good deeds, that may not be altered from bad

until he attains perfection ; and to to good, as from good to bad. The

abstain from evil deeds, until he alteration is entirely in his own

eradicates the bad propensities power, dependent solely on his

which have taken root within will, and can be wrought by no ex-

him. Let him not suppose that they ternal influence.

(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.
To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

SIR, — I HAVE to return my best thanks both to yourself for inserting my
letter of the 10th Nov. in your valuable Journal, (page 160,) and also to
your three correspondents for their prompt replies, (pages 176 and 192,) to
my query; and especially to your learned friend M. J. for the explanation
which be has offered of the origin of the supposed error committed by the
Septuagint translators and by Josephus.

I must confess, however, that M. J.'s explanation is far from satisfac-
tory ; for I cannot understand how they should have fallen into so strange
an error " either from ignorance, or from a spurious copy before them;"
nor can I admit that Josephus would have ventured to originate so remark-
able a story explanatory of the translation : — Indeed the more ridiculous
that story may seem, the less likely is he to have " trumped it up."

I have therefore to request that you will have the kindness to give
insertion to the present letter, in which I wish to present to your readers a
few reasons against the supposition that the Septuagint translators and
Josephus are necessarily wrong with respect to the meaning of the text in
question.

It is proper to premise that as this text occurs in a portion of the Scrip-
tures which it is not pretended was translated by the original LXX. trans-
lators of the Pentateuch, the tradition respecting those translators, which
is adverted to in pages 12 and 64 of the present volume, is entirely unaf-
fected by this discussion. I state this in order to free the question from all
possible difficulty upon that head ; and also for the purpose of correcting
the assertion of your Correspondent " J. S." that they (that is; the trans-
lators of the text in dispute,) have translated T2- [om!:^] by rprap in
Gen. xlix. 6 ; Exod. xxix. 13.

Now, although the translators of the Prophets were not the same indi-
viduals as those who made the Greek translation of the Law, they must
unquestionably have been learned Jews of Alexandria; and we are bound to
assume also that they were chosen from among their brethren on account
of their superior qualifications for the task; which qualifications would have
consisted of a perfect knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek languages, and
of an intimate acquaintance with the contents of the sacred volume.

But to render the hypothesis of " M. J." consistent with itself, we must
suppose not only that these translators had never seen any other than this
single spurious copy of the text, but also that they were so entirely
ignorant of that text, and of the Hebrew language generally, that
they did not possess the means of rectifying the errors in that copy. Let

240 NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

me ask whether M. J. himself, or even any Israelite endowed with a portion
only of the learning which he possesses, would, in the present day, be led
into so gross an error by the mere mis-spelling of a word in a faulty copy of
the Scriptures ? And how can we presume to impute such utter ignorance to
the Alexandrian Jews, in direct opposition to the opinion of the world ge-
nerally, and to that in particular of the gifted and lamented DAVIDS, as
expressed in his Lecture on the Philosophy of the Jews, pp. 18, 19 ?

But this is a portion only of the difficulty attending " M. J.'s " hypothesis.
We must further suppose that Flavius Josephus, a Jew of Jerusalem, of a
sacerdotal and learned family; and himself, even when a child, distinguished
for his learning and his accurate understanding of the Scriptures ; (Life of
Josephus, sect. 1, 2 ;) — we are to suppose that he had no knowledge of the
text in question, excepting from a spurious copy, similar to that which had
misled the Jews of Alexandria not less, probably, than three centuries pre-
viously. But, then, what are we to say to his own statement, (Life of Jo-
sephus, sec. 75,) that when Jerusalem was destroyed, and he had permission
from Titus to save whatsoever he chose out of the ruins of his country, he
took away with him THE HOLY BOOKS?

The similarity which exists between Josephus and the Septuagint transla-
tion, not only in this particular instance, but also upon many other points
in which the latter differs materially from the received Hebrew text, might,
not unreasonably, lead to the inference that the Jewish historian (in like
manner as the Jews, as a people, unquestionably were, after their return
from Babylon, — see Nehemiah, viii. 8 ; xiii. 24) was ignorant of the lan-
guage in which the Scriptures were written, and was obliged therefore to
refer to one or other of the versions orTargums which had been made of
them); and as he was for a time resident in Alexandria, and as likewise he
was entirely conversant in Egyptian matters, and was also a thorough Greek
scholar, it would be natural that he should have made use of the Greek
version of the Alexandrian congregations. But under this hypothesis, what
becomes of the universally admitted authority of " the learned and authen-
'tic Jewish historian ? "

On the whole, therefore, there does not (at least at present) appear suffi-
cient reason for doubting that both the Alexandrian Jews and Josephus
himself possessed the means of ascertaining, and the ability to understand,
the signification of the text in question ; and, consequently, Whiston (Jose-
phus's translator) is justified in saying that " it is almost unaccountable
that our commentators should so much hesitate about its true interpreta-
tion." I am, Sir, Your very obedient Servant,

27th December, 1834. B. E.

WE thank our Correspondent J. A. for his suggestions, -which, dictated
as they evidently are by a friendly feeling towards our publication, shall
certainly be attended to. The letter which we insert above, fully meets
J. A.'s views on the subject in question. He will, however, permit us
to inform him, that the Septuagint translation, of which he undertakes
the defence, is not the one mentioned by the learned author of the

tD'jpT nnrr.

LONDON : — Printed by James Nichols, 46, 11 ox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FIFTEENTH DAY OF TEBATH, 5595.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1835.

No. 16.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSED.

(Continued from page 228 J

A VERY slight acquaintance with liar cruelty of
the sacred writings an 1 insight into
the works of the creation, suffice to

creation,

show us that Mercy and Beneficence
•are the great attributes by which the
universe is sustained. They might,
therefore, be expected to be found,
as in fact they are, among those
commands in their law, which are
most frequently and strenuously di-
rected to be observed by the Israel-
ites : And that they had sunk deep
into their hearts from the earliest
period, is proved by many incidents
in their history.

Their disposition for mercy, which
appears to have been inseparable
from their nature, occasioned them
even to neglect obeying, to its full-
est extent, the command given them
to drive the seven nations entirely
out of the land which had been as-
signed them, lest they should, by
intermingling with them, fall into
the same evil courses which had
Drought upon those nations the just
wrath of a beneficent Deity ; whose
abhorrence of cruelty could not be
more strongly marked than by the
circumstance, that He, who had
announced himself as a God of
mercy should direct his people, to
drive out and utterly obliterate every
trace of the seven nations from the
land the Israelites were to occupy ;
on account principally, as it appears,
that besides their other wicked deeds
and abominable practices, they were
a most cruel and unmerciful race.
For by outraging those great attri-
butes which sustain the universe,
they endeavoured, as far as lay in their
power, to destroy a creation formed
in love and beneficence. The pecu-

2

those nations is
strongly set forth in several passages
of the Scriptures. Adoni-besek him-
self confesses, that the punishment
inflicted upon him by the Israelites
was a just retribution for his cruel-
ties ; for he say, " Threescore and
ten kings, having their thumbs and
their great toes cut off, gathered
their meat under my table ; as I have
done, so God hath requited me."
(Judges i. 7 ) Samuel, reproving
Saul for showing mercy to Agag and
preserving him alive, contrary to
the express command of the Deity,
reproaches Agag with his cruel con-
duct, telling him, " As thy sword
hath made women childless, so shall
thy mother be childless 'among •wo-
men.";* It must be remembered that
Agag was a descendant of those
Amalekites who cruelly fell upon
the hindmost of the Israelites in the
wilderness, and " smote even all that
were feeble and weary, and he feared
not God." For \vhich unmerciful
act interminable war against the
race was denounced on the part of
the Deity, who in this most impres-
sive manner teaches us that He con-
siders cruelty and inhumanity the
highest offences against himself.

We cannot refrain from quoting
a passage out of the Wisdom of Solo-
mon, as it applies immediately to
this branch of our subject. Speak-
ing of the time afforded by the Deity
to the seven nations to repent them-
selves of their evil courses, but
which proved totally unavailing, their
crimes, for which they were directed
to be driven out and destroyed, are
then recapitulated ; among which,
* 1 Sam. xv. 33,

242 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

and standing foremost in the fearful
catalogue, is their cruelty towards
helpless infants, touchingly described
in these words : " And also those
merciless murderers of children and
devourers of man's flesh, and the
feasts of blood, with their priests,
out of the midst of their idolatrous
crew, and the parents, that killed
with their own hands souls destitute
of help." (chap. xii. 5, 6.)

The abhorrence in which cruelty
and inhumanity were held by the
Israelites is strongly exemplified in
their conduct on the occasion of that
appalling incident, related very cir-
cumstantially. in Judges xix. and
xx., of the death of the concubine
of the Levite, occasioned by the
shameful abuse of her by the inha-
bitants of Gibeah of the tribe of Ben-
jamin. The whole nation of Israel-
ites assembled in the most solemn
manner, and, having heard the de-
tails from the Levite, they all as one
man declared they would go against
Gibeah, ere they returned to their
own homes, to obtain justice for
that outrage on humanity. " They
sent men through all the tribe of
Benjamin saying, What wickedness
is this that is done among you ?
Therefore deliver us the men, the
children of Belial which are in Gibe-
ah, that we may put them to death,
and put away evil from Israel ; but
the children of Benjamin would not
hearken to the voice of their brethren
the children of Israel," — for they
put themselves in battle array —
thus endeavouring by violence to
maintain a wicked action. The
description given of the succes-
sive attacks of the Israelites, and of
their defeat in two of them by the
Benjamites, depicts very vividly the
conflicting feelings which struggled
in the breasts of the Israelites at the
time : Their horror at the cruel act
for which they had asked only to
have the culprits delivered up, their
consequent just indignation against
the tribe for refusing to remove so
great a reproach from the whole na-
tion, are finely contrasted with their
evident reluctance to proceed to ex-
tremities with their refractory breth-
ren, as is shewn by their appealing to
the Deity. And on the second occa-
sion, " the children of Israel enquir-

ed of the Lord, Shall I yet again go
out to battle against the children of
Benjamin my brother, or shall ]
cease ? And the Lord said, Go up ;
for to morrow I will deliver them
into your hands." Having at length
prevailed against the Benjamites,
and, in the heat of the battle, nearly
exterminated the whole tribe, and
destroyed their cities, (for only six
hundred men escaped to Rimmon, a
rock,) the Israelites repented them
sorely of the signal punishment their,
duty had called upon them to inflict
upon one of their tribes, and they
took measures afterwards to preserve
it from becoming extinct, in conse-
quence of an oath they had made,
that they would give none of their
daughters for wives to the Benja-
mites, in order to mark their abhor-
rence of the atrocious deed that had
been perpetrated among them.

At a later period we find that the
Israelites continued to be renowned
for a merciful disposition. In the
time of Ahab, king of Israel, Ben-
hadad, king of the Syrians, having
made war upon him, and experienced
a signal defeat, which obliged him
to fly, his followers advised that
they should approach Ahab in the
attitude of supplicants, to petition
for mercy. " For," said they, " be-
hold now we have heard that the
kings of the house of Israel are mer-
ciful kings." And the sequel proved
they were not mistaken ; for Ahab,
when petitioned to preserve the life
of Ben-hadar), enquired very kindly
and eagerly, "Is he yet alive? He
is my brother;" and showed him
afterwards much kindness. (1 Kings
xx. 34.)

We shall mention only one more
among the many other instances that
might be adduced, to prove that hu-
manity and mercy characterized this
people when dwelling in their own
land.

In the reign of Ahaz, king of
Judah, the king of Israel having
taken two hundred thousand captives
of both sexes of their brethren of the
tribe of Judah, and purposing to keep
them as bondmen and bondwomen,
certain of the heads of the tribe of
Ephraim stood up, and reprobated
those that had returned from the
war, and said, " Ye shall not bring

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

243

in the captives hither ; for whereas
we have offended against the Lord
already, ye intend to add more to
our sins and to our trespass ; for our
trespass is great, and there is fierce
wrath against Israel. So the armed
men left the captives and the spoil
before the princes and all the con-
gregation. And the men who had thus
spoken rose up and took the captives,
aud, with the spoil, clothed all that
were naked among them, and array-
ed them, and shod them, and gave
them to eat and to drink, and auoint-
ed them, and carried all the feeble
upon asses, and brought them to Je-
richo, the city of palm-trees, to their
brethren ; then, they returned to
Samaria," their own homes. In all
other histories we should search in
vain for a parallel to this instance of
mercy and humanity. It proves not
only how superior are the virtues
when based on laws emanating from
the Deity, but that a people who had
once been trained to the practice and
contemplation of the duties they in-
culcate, can never entirely divest
themselves of their beneficent effect,
however they may err on many im-
portant points. The Israelites, when
they performed this merciful and
humane act, had swerved from the
worship of the true God, at the in-
stigation of their princes ; yet the
lessons of virtue they had received
for ages before had sunk too deep
into them ever to be totally oblite-
rated ; as we find to be the case
throughout their history. (1 Chron.
xxviii. 15.)

We have dwelt on the qualities of
mercy and humanity, because a very
little reflection will show them to be
of the first importance in the social
system, and the basis on which a
large proportion of our virtues are
built. So many are the occasions
which call for their exercise, in the
multifarious relations of mankind,
that we have only to imagine to our-
selves the evils j a great departure
from the practic^ of these, the most
sacred of our duties, would inflict on
the human race, immediately to per-
ceive and appreciate their value. We
shall not attempt to place the fright-
ful list of those evils in array before
our readers : It is painful enough
only to think on a few of them ; and

they are sufficient to convince us
they would render life insupportable,
and soon cause the frame of society
to fall to pieces.

Seeing the great importance in
which the practice of these virtues
is held by the Deity, may we not
consider that the favour which his
people have always experienced from
him, even when sinning greatly
against him, and which is evinced in
nothing so much as in their preserva-
tion as a people, even to this day,
after so many trials and sufferings,
may be ascribed partly to those quali-
ties being, as it were, engrafted in
them ? They certainly preserve them
from the commission of many dread-
ful crimes, and cause them to prac-
tise many of those virtues which
He has commanded them, and on
which the sustaining of the social
system so much depends.

The Jewish people may fearlessly
offer themselves to the strictest scru-
tiny of their fellow-men, and may
feel confident of coming out of it
with honour.

Their position in society has
hitherto kept them from being fairly
judged ; but a closer examination
into their character will show them
possessed of virtues that, when found
in individuals more favourably placed
for observation, have justly gained
them the approbation of their fellow-
men. It is well known that they
make the best of husbands and
wives. Domestic discord is scarcely
known among them. It would be
difficult to cite an instance of a
husband ever raising his hand
against the wife of his bosom.
Whilst, on the part of the wife,
scarcely an instance of conjugal infi-
delity is to be heard of. Their affec-
tion and tenderness towards their
offspring is proverbial ; they are,
consequently, generally dutiful and
loving to their parents. The father
of a family is never found to prefer
spending his time away from the
domestic hearth and circle, and
squandering the means which ought
to be applied in procuring com-
forts for, and promoting the welfare
of, his family, in idle, vicious, or
selfish courses. Sobriety is so gene-
ral amjng them, that it is rare to
see a Jew in the shameful state of
2 i 2

<Z44

ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS &C.

inebriation. A Jew homicide is so
rare, that we almost doubt if a sin-
gle instance can be adduced of one
in this country for nearly an entire
century; and that it is equally so
in all countries where they dwell,
we believe we may assert with truth.
They are remarkable for the absence
of that ferocity and recklessness
which seem to proclaim enmity to
the rest of mankind, and to set at
defiance every tie that binds man to
his duties. On the contrary, no-
thing is so easy as to call up in their
countenance that expression of hu-
manity, kindly feelings, and mercy
towards their fellow-creatures, which
proclaim at once, that those qualities
are inherent in them. These may
appear exaggerated statements, but
we court the closest inspection, and
feel assured they would be found
strictly true in every point. And
let it not be supposed, that these re-
marks apply solely to those of the
Hebrew nation of superior grades.
It is highly to the credit of their
humbler brethren, that they are
quite as well entitled to be included
in them ; which render them well
deserving of the kindest and most
strenuous efforts, on the'part of their
superiors in wealth and station, to
add to the good qualities they already
possess, so as to raise the nation
generally to that moral perfection
which the religion of their fore-
fathers is so eminently calculated
to enable them to attain.

We shall be excused, we trust,
for this digression, which we cannot,
however, consider as altogether irre-
levant, or out of place, in " the He-
brew Review."

The writings of our wise men of
yore, we take it, are being laid before
our brethren, and the public at large,
in a language more generally under-
stood than that in which they wrote,
for a practical purpose, not to be
read and then thrown aside, but that
all those sublime truths, and excel-
lent laws, which our religion teaches

and contains, and which have princi-
pally employed their pious thoughts
and able pens, may be well under-
stood and acted upon. And we are
now doing no more than humbly
pointing to this as being their prin-
cipal aim.

Some may say, that all they have
written contains nothing new. This
in one sense may be true, — though it
would not be difficult to show that
they abound with many original
thoughts on very important points; —
but are they on that account to be
laid aside, and the rising and future
generations deprived of the instruc-
tion they convey ? As well might it
be said, that, because the letters of
the alphabet are of ancient date, the
children of the present and future
generations need not learn them, as
that lessons of wisdom and virtue
need not be studied, nor, conse-
quently, acted upon by the present
and future generations, because,
forsooth, they are antiquated. By
such a mode of reasoning each gene-
ration would require some new code
of religious and moral laws, in order
that they might be saved the
drudgery and disgrace of studying
out of the same books as their fore-
fathers.

The value of the Sacred Writings,
and of the labours of those wise men
who have descanted upon their con-
tents, is ill understood if it be sup-
posed that their subjects are worn
threadbare. We should suspect
those who entertain such an opinion,
as having much to learn out of
them. And, at all events, let them
reflect, that, however familiar they
may be with their contents, they are
quite new to every succeeding gene-
ration, whose thirst for knowledge
on the most important points for
them to learn can be slaked at no
fountain so pure and wholesome as
the Sacred Writings of the Hebrews,
and those of their pious and justly
celebrated wise men.

A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

245

II. THE CAVE OF EN-GEDI.

TRANSLATED BY S. H., SEX.

From the Hebrew of the ?p

, or " Gatherer," for 'the two first quarters
0/5549—1789-

LISTEN to me, my sons, while I re-
late to you the valour and grandeur
of a man. It is not the valour of a
warrior, neither is it the grandeur of
a rich and powerful man ; but the
valour is that of a man who could
conquer his passions, and the gran-
deur is that of his soul. As the
clouds of heaven shed the blessings
of the Supreme alike on the wicked
and on the righteous, so is the mild
and benevolent man who can curb
his anger. He, like a rock, stands
firm, and fears not, though the sea
rage, though surrounded by its
foaming billows. He is unmoved,
being supported by righteousness.
Nothing can shake him, although
encompassed by the breakers of
death. He listens not to the voice
of flatterers, pays no attention even
to the advice of his best friends,
should they urge him on to ven-
geance against his er.emies; for,
"good-will to man" is his constant
beacon : To it are his eyes directed ;
where it guides him he follows. His
only desire and delight are centred
in humanity, which never deserts its
followers, although they should for a
time wander, deserted, forlorn, and
with no one to support them in their
hour of need.

So fared it with the good David,
who was obliged to flee from Saul,
and wandered in the wilderness like
a lost sheep, or like a bird that hops
from twig to twig, when he was in
the fastnesses at En-gedi, concealed
from the wrath of his pursuers, who
sought to take his life. There sat
David, and a few of his trusty fol-
lowers, in a desolate and dreary cave,
the habitation of serpents and beasts
of prey, surrounded on all sides by
noxious reptiles ; in a cave where no
man who knew the value of life
would have entered; a cave into
which the glorious ligiit of heaven
had never beamed, nor the sun shed
its genial rays. Darkness, and the
shadow of death alone, there took up
their abode. There no voice of joy
* 2 Samuel xxiii. 9.

was ever heard ; no voice but the
yells of devouring animals. There
sat David, mild, placid, nay, even
cheerful, as a bridegroom in the
chamber of his bride, or as a king
on his throne. His little host en-
camped outside, hungry, fatigued,
exhausted, from the troubles which
they had endured : Life became a
burthen to them. Despairing, they
communed with each other and said,
" Up ' Let us urxe him on to turn
against Saul, and at once to revenge
him and ourselves for all the evils to
which that tyrant has subjected us.
Let us go and remonstrate with him,
and require to know the cause why
he delays attacking Saul ! Has he
not heretofore vanquished and over-
come his enemies ? Are WE not
strong enough ? Then why should
we any longer wander in this dreary
wilderness, enduring hunger and
thirst, and deprived of every comfort
of life ? Our wives, our children,
and our effects, — have they not al-
ready become a prey to Saul and his
army ? Up, then ! Let some one
address him, and urge him to the
onslaught."

Thus they communed, when
Jeshoram, the son of Chacononai,
advanced to David and addressed
him : " My lord David, thou art no
stranger to the deeds that I have ac-
complished. From the very mo-
ment when I attended thee to win thy
dowry from the Philistines, has my
soul not at all times been true to
thee? Hast thou not always pros-
pered when thou wert pleased to
listen to my counsel ? and why ?
Because I never hastened to effect
a purpose without first looking to
the result. How frequently have I
not checked the young warriors, who,
impelled by anger, impetuously rush-
ed to the charge ere they had con-
sidered the consequences ! Allow
me now with great submission to
say, that I am equally dissatisfied
with thy deportment. Is it fitting
for a warrior like thyself to be lazy ?
to sit thus in a state of apathy ? Why

246

THE CAVE OF EN-GEDI.

does fear possess thee ? or why art
thou afraid, that thou fleest like a
hind when pursued by the hunter ?
How art thou changed ! Where is now
thy daring spirit flown ? Thou who
couldst truly boast, ' Thy servant has
slain the lion and the bear, and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be-
come as one of them,' * — Thou who
didst exclaim on that memorable
occasion, ' Let no man's heart
droop ; thy servant will go and
fight,with this Philistine 1'f Didst not
thou slay the haughty champion ?
and with what ? With a small stone !
But now that thou hast a sword,
spear, and javelin, and art surround-
ed by this trusty band of warriors,
thy spirits flag, and thou art faint-
hearted. Who is Saul, and who are
his men ? Did 1 not, with this spear,
lay prostrate at my feet three hun-
dred warriors at one time ? Surely
we can vanquish the son of Kish
and his imbecile adherents. O that
thou but knewest how my soul thirsts
for the blood of thine enemies ! how
anxious I am to meet, to combat, and
to overcome them ! Thou wouldest
rejoice at our success. We surely
are powerful enough. Strangers to
fear, not one of our pursuers shall
escape : Not even their cattle will we
spare ; nay, not a hoof."

Next spoke Eleazar, the son of
Dodo the Ahohite : — " Remember,
son of Jesse, the day I attended thee
in battle, when I challenged the
whole array of the Philistines, when
I pursued them sword in hand. I
coveted not their plunder, neither did
I seek their booty. I harassed and
destroyed them on all sides : Was it
for plunder ? No : — but to annihi-
late my foes, and not to suffer a rem-
nant of them to escape. My might
has not forsaken me. Saul shall be-
come as one of them, and his army
like theirs."

Shamniah, the son of Agee, the
Hararite, then lifted up his voice
and said : — " Surely those melodious
strains must yet vibrate on thine ears
which the virgins chanted in their
dances, when in alternate choirs they
sung, Saul has slain thousands ; but
David tens of thousands. \ How would
theirhearts again be gladdened on thy
return ! on the return of a virtuous
* 1 Samuel xvii. 36. t Ibid. J Ibitl. xviii.7.

man, who, free from sin and iniqui-
ty, has been causelessly persecuted
and pursued ! Will they not most
readily become thy subjects, bow
down to thee, and place the diadem
on thy head ? Trust to us : We will
serve thees and not forsake thee
whilst breath remains in our bodies.
Remember the day when Israel was
forced to flee before the Philistines :
I alone remained in the field of len-
tiles, and, maintaining my ground,
hurled destruction on the foe. Hast
thou already forgotten all this?
Have we not often evinced our
prowess unto thee ? Remember,
when we were encamped in the fast-
nesses, and thou exclaimedstJ'O /
that any one would enable me to drink
of the waters of the well in Bethlehem,
which is at the gate ! § did we not in-
stantly rise up, actuated by one im-
pulse, and, at the hazard of our lives,
dash through the camp of the Phi-
listines and bring thee water from
that well ? We are now as ready to
bring thee the blood of thine ene-
mies, who seek thy life and who
wish to destroy our names. Hasten
then ! delay not a moment ! My
sword is already drawn in my hand,
and shall never return to its sheath
till I have dyed, it with the blood
of thy oppressors, and thrown their
carcases to the beasts of the field,
and their booty shall be utterly an-
nihilated ! "

These words were scarcely uttered
whtn Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
the son of a man from Kabziel,
whose valiant soul had achieved
mighty dei-ds, stepped forth and
said, " O that I equalled these three
warriors who have so nobly excelled
in arms !|| But if I am yet too young
to rank with such heroes, still I
trust my deeds will bear recounting.
I destroyed two lion-like men of
Moab. I vanquished a lion on a
snowy day ; and an Egyptian, full
five cubits high, I smote with his
own spear, which I wrenched from
his grasp. My lord, though young,
my arm is strong as brass. Let me
but see mine enemy and my sword
anticipates his destruction. How
long yet is this man Saul to be a
stumbling-block unto us ? And
why is our fame to be calumniated

§ 2 Samuel xxiii. 15. || Ibid. 20.

THE CAVE OF EN-GEDI.

247

at the gates ? It is already said,
' David and bis followers are faint-
hearted. Their courage has forsaken
them. They hide themselves, like
night-plunderers, who are afraid to
see the light of the sun.' Thus our
glory is clouded and disgraced.
Lead us on. The Lord is with us.
Thine enemies shall perish like grass.
Let it to-day be proclaimed to the
world who is the aggressor and who
the conqueror ! "

To them succeeded Abiathar the
Priest, who thus addressed the chief :
— " Hearken, I beseech thee, to the
advice of thy friends, to the counsel
of thy trusty warriors. They have
advanced the truth free from guile.
Why, I ask, should we wander in
this vast and dreary wilderness, and
abide here in this desolate cave, the
habitation of scorpions and serpents ?
Hast thou forgotten that Saul in
one day destroyed eighty- five men
who wore the holy linen ephod ;
and that he so totally destroyed the
priestly city Nob that he did not
sufl'er men, women, or children
longer to exist ? Even sucking
babes did not escape his dire
vengeance. Nay, the very cattle
fell a prey to his malignity. And
for what : Because he hated thee.
Remember thy words to me then,
' I hare been the unfortunate cause of
all this calamity to thy father's
house.' * The blood of my father's
house now calls on thee for revenge.
Arise, t1 en ! and wreak thy ven-
geance on the tyrant this day, to
atone for the blood of the Lord's
servants which he has spilt ! Art
thou not the Lord's anointed,
chosen by him to reign in Israel ?
Arise, then, I pray thee, and help
his people and his priestly servants.
Has he not said, ' Tltou shall feed
my people Israel and thou shaft be lord
ottr them f '-f Whilst yet he spoke,
one of the scouts, who had been
despatched by David, swiftly came
running from one of the points of
reconnoissance, and shouted, ''Re-
joice ! rejoice ! The enemy is al-
ready taken ! He is within our
grasp ! Saul is at hand ! Quick,
and you will succeed ! His host has

* 1 Samuel sxii. 17—22.
* 2 Samuel v. 2.

wound round yonder rock, and he
only, himself, remains behind. I
saw him enter the cave there to the
north. Haste, and we shall take
him!"

All with one accord exclaimed :
" This is the day which we have so
long looked for. Seize sword and
spear, javelin and shield! For this
is the day on which the promise of
the Lord will be accomplished, who
said, ' Behold, I will surrender thy
enemy into thy power .' ' '

With anger flashing from their
nostrils, they all prepared to rise
and to assail him.

David arose from his seat, leaning
on his sword, his eyes beaming
mildness, benevolence, and charity :
So dilates the heart of the virtuous
man, when an opportunity offers of
extending mercy and of conquering
his passions ! Advancing to his
warriors and looking round, he thus
addressed them : — " Stay, my
friends ! Stay, ye who seek my
welfare ! Stay, and listen to me."
They stopped, and he continued : —
"Ye have ever been trusty men to me.
Ye have never, in any one instance,
or upon any occasion, swerved from
my word. Ye have paid implicit
attention to all my commands : For
that the Lord will reward you.
Do ye therefore also now listen to
my request : Let each warrior de-
liver to me his sword, and sit ye
down. It is not for you to seek
revenge on Saul. That vengeance
is due to me alone : He is mine
enemy, and seeks to destroy my
life."

On hearing this request they all,
with one impulse, delivered their
weapons, and sat down.

David then turned towards the
north, and beheld where Saul was
entering the cave alone for a private
purpose. David followed unseen,
although he saw Saul and heard him
angrily muttering to himself, "O
that my people could but find this
David ! I would give his carcase to
the birds of the air and to the
beasts of the field ! Where can he
be gone, and where is his hiding-
place ? Did they not tell me that he
had taken up his abode here in this
wilderness? O that I could but
find him ! "

248

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Where is the man who has his
enemy within his grasp, — that
enemy who has repaid him evil for
good, who has driven him from his
paternal roof, who pursues him in
order, without any just reason, to
deprive him of life, — where is that
man who would not retaliate, grasp
his enemy by the throat, hurl him
to the ground, and rejoice to see
him weltering in his blood and the
dogs feasting on his vitals ? Such

are the urgent dictates of vengeance.
But David slowly approached the
implacable Saul. Vengeance was
within the length of his sword.
One thrust and it is done ! The
opportunity might never again pre-
sent itself ! But humanity remained
triumphant, and David — raised his
sword and — cut off the hem of Saul's
garment !

S. H., SEN.

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 203.)

CHAPTER II.

As every being in nature, accord-
ing to its kind, has an exclusive
purpose, distinct from that of all
other species, which constitutes the
cause and aim of its existence ; and
as man is not only one of these
beings, but likewise, as we have
already demonstrated, superior to
them all in accomplishments and
perfection, it thence results that his
aim and purpose must likewise be
exclusively his own and peculiar to
himself. It cannot, therefore, be
that which he has in common with
other animals, namely, that he is
animate, does therefore require
nourishment, and is gifted with
sensation : For, were this the case,
the perfection of the jackass, or the
swine, would equal that^of man, and
the purpose of their existence be
precisely similar to that of his.
But as we see in man intellectual
powers, superior in degree to those
of all other animals, we are justified
in asserting that the aim and pur-
pose of existence, exclusively pecu-
liar to man, is, that he should exer-
cise and perfect these intellectual
faculties. These faculties form two
classes : 1. Reflective. 2. Active.
But as the second class is merely the
result of the first, the perfection pe-
culiar to man consists in his re-
flective powers : For, were we to
assume that the active efforts of his
mind, such as arts, sciences, or
manufactures, constitute his only
perfection, we should be in error.
As, 1. We find many animals pos-

sessed of mechanical faculties, far
beyond all human imitation, as is
demonstrated in the " Letter of the
Animals to Man," composed by
Abuhan al Zaphi. 2. The perfec-
tion which we attain in idea affords
us greater delight than that which
we attain in practice ; which proves
that the principal aim of reason
consists in the perfection of the
inward or contemplative ideas.*

Thence it comes that man is more
desirous of exercising his sense of
seeing and of hearing than that of
smelling, &c., because by the two
former his mind becomes enriched,
whereas the effects of his other
senses are merely physical, and do
not, therefore, contribute to his real
perfection, but simply to those corpo-
real wants, which he has in common
with other animals. And as every
animate being is most inclined to-
wards that, which promotes the pe-
culiar aim and tendency of its^ spe-
cies, the exercise of these two senses
are preferred by man, because
it is a means of approximating
to the purpose of his existence.
And therefore Holy Writ more
especially ascribes the creation of
these two senses to the Deity, as
Solomon saith, " The ear hears, the
eye sees : the Lord has created them
both." (Prov. xx. 12.) As the in-
struction, afforded by a teacher,
takes a firmer hold on the rnind than

* If our active powers were onr only per-
fection, we should again become reduced to a
level with the brute ; as the aim of all active
efforts is enjoyment.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

249

what is self-acquired, he gives pre-
cedence to the ear before the eye.
The preference of these two senses
before the rest, the same wise king
likewise alludes to, when he says,
" My little dove ; in the clefts of the
rocks, in their inmost concealment,
let me but eee thee appear, let me
but hear thy voice ; for thy voice is
sweet and thy appearance beaute-
ous." (Canticles ii. 14.) This is an
address of the poet to his own soul,
under the simile of a dove hidden
in the body, where its seat is not
known, as a timid turtle hides in
the deepest cleft of the rock. He
calls upon that soul to evince the
fulness of its powers by means of
the two senses of sight and hearing,
which alone serve to develope the
human perfection, provided he
makes proper use of them : For if
he abuses them to the idle purposes
of worldly vanity, he is blind and
deaf, though in the full possession of
all his senses : As the prophet apos-
trophises those who were immersed
in sensual intoxication : " Hearken,
ye deaf; ye blind, look up and
see !" (Isaiah xlii. 18.)

Absolute perfection is twofold : —
1. That which accompanies existence
and is at once developed : This is
called the perfection of the object. 2.
That which is obtained by the
greatest possible developement of
all the powers ; and which, though
in the germ it accompanies exist-
ence, is only called forth in the man-
ner we have stated : This is called
the perfection of the purpose. Other
animals have not any perfection
except that of the first kind, nor
can it be expected that they should
improve : Therefore it is said of
them at the time of creation, " God
saw that it was good;" (Genesis i.
21;) for as soon as existence was
bestowed on them, they had attained
the perfection of their purpose, and
were "good," because not suscepti-
ble of improvement. But, at the
creation of man, these words, as is
most remarkable, are not used by
Holy Writ, because he is not like
other animals ; he has not attained
the perfection of his purpose as soon
as existence is bestowed on him, —
he is susceptible of improvement, —
and that improvement depends on

his own will, and his using the
powers of his soul so as perfectly
to develope them. Therefore the
preacher says, " Fame is more pre-
cious than fragrant oil, and the
dying-day better than the day of
birth." (Ecclesiastes vii. 1.) In the
first part of the verse he praises the
fame which is acquired by good
qualities ; yet, says he, even this is not
the real good to be enjoyed by the
soul; for as long as man liveth he
has not yet attained the purpose of his
being ; throughout his whole life-
time he is progressing from the
germ into that full developement
which is the perfection of the pur-
pose, and this is attained only in
death, which seals his progress :
Further, to point out this essential
difference between the creation of
man and that of all other animals,
and between the purpose of his
being and of theirs, we find that
Holy Writ uses the words, " God
made the beast of the field accord-
ing to its kind, and the cattle ac-
cording to its kind, and all the rep-
tiles of the earth according to their
kind," (Genesis i. 28,) thereby to
denote, that the purpose of animals
is not that of the individual but of
the kind or species. Therefore the
females were created at the same
time with the males, and without be-
ing distinctly mentioned. But as
man, in addition to the general
purpose of his species, has a supe-
rior, distinct, and individual purpose;
the words, " according to his kind,"
are not used at his creation. Nor
is the woman created at tbe same
time as the man ; for .his purpose
is distinct and complete within him-
self, whereas woman is created as
an aid to man, to whom the pur-
pose of her existence is thus second-
ary.

This perfection -of purpose, how-
ever, as we stated before, does not
accompany existence, but results
from the full and due developement
of the soul's powers and faculties ;
therefore Solomon saith, " The dis-
tinction, of man from the brute is"
pn, meaning the germ of something
which is not yet. (Eccles. iii. 19.)
His meaning is not, There is no dis-
tinction between man and brute ; as
in that case he must bave said

•2 K

250

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE9.

PK, " There

is no distinction," &c. Where-
as, on the contrary, he positively
asserts there is a distinction, but it
is the germ of a something which
is not yet developed. This is like-
wise the meaning of Job when he
says Kisn PND rJDinm, "Wisdom
cometh out of ps, (the germ of some-
thing which is not yet,) and which
is the place of understanding," (Job
xxviii. 21,) namely, wisdom is en-
gendered from the germ of those
mental powers in man which is
called PN ; and, in order fully to de-
fine what he means by p«, he further
tells us, "which is the place of un-
derstanding," merely the place, not
understanding itself.

CHAPTER III.

WHATEVER is in'the germ must be
developed ; and unless that is done,
it may be considered as non-exist-
ing : Thence it is evident, that, as
we said, the perfecting of the pur-
pose in man is the full and complete
developement of his soul's powers,
the germ of which accompanies his
existence ; and as this only consti-
tutes his distinction before other
animals, unless this developement is
afforded to his faculties, there is no
real distinction between him and the
brute. It therefore behoves us to
define what is the developement
which constitutes the perfection of
the purpose For which man was
created.

Philosophers unanimously assert
that this perfection is the force of
reason. They maintain that the
knowledge which is acquired by
means of this force of reason, is
immortal, and survives the perishable
body; that there is an intimate
connection between the understand-
ing, him who understands, and the
objects to be understood, which all
are concentrated by the force of rea-
son : This concentration is imperish-
able, and to attain it, is alike the
purpose for which man is created,
and the supreme felicity to which he
is appointed ; as no other immorta-
lity is possible, a man would other-
wise be created without any aim,
and not possessed of that superiority
and perfection which, as we have re-

peatedly proved, belongs to him.
Many divines have adopted this opi-
nion of philosophers, because they be-
lieved it to be in accordance with the
maxims of the law. To this they
were induced by the meaning which
they assigned to Moses's prayer,
" That I may know thee in order
that I may find grace in thine eyes."
(Exodus xxxiii. 13.) Whence they
infer that he only who is possessed
of knowledge can obtain the Divine
grace, and that consequently know-
ledge is felicity. But in reality this
passage only proves that he who has
attained knowledge is superior to
him who has not made that acquisi-
tion ; but it does not prove that he
who does not succeed in acquiring
the highest degree of knowledge is
incapable of felicity. The words in
Holy Writ are, " that I may know
thee." But this knowledge of the
Divine Being is possessed by himself
alone, and by none other. We,
therefore, after mature reflection,
give it as our opinion, that the as-
sertion of the philosophers, which
we have stated above, is not only in
itself untenable, but is likewise con-
trary to the doctrines of the law :
For, according to this assertion,
man would be created in vain, and
without any purpose whatever, as
one of two must be the case — either
the purpose can be attained by
man, or it cannot; if the latter, it is
evident that man is created in vain ;
if the former, it is evident that, were
this attainment to depend upon su-
perior knowledge, scarcely one man
in a thousand could lay claim thereto:
So that it might be said that a So-
crates or a Plato, or the few who
equalled them, attained the superior
knowledge that alone is the purpose
for which man was created, whereas
all the rest of mankind, not being
able to attain that knowledge, are
created in vain, and not superior to
other animals. And if some gene-
rations were to pass without pro-
ducing any men so pre-eminent as
Socrates or Plato, then these entire
generations form an hiatus in the
annals of creation, and are to he ac-
counted as non-existing. This would
not only be erroneous, but most
presumptuous, inasmuch as it im-
putes to the Deity a want of design

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

in his works, having created so vast
a majority of mankind in vain and
without any purpose. Moreover, as
they do not define what kind of
knowledge is thus to entitle its pos.
sessor to a lot so greatly preferable
to his fellow-men ; even a man
most pre-eminently gifted with wis-
dom, science, and knowledge, may
still be unable to attain the perfec-
tion of purpose, as his knowledge
may uot be of the right sort. For
surely, it is not mathematics or na-
tural philosophy that can abstract-
edly bestow any perfection on the
human soul ; acd their utility is
only to prepare the soul for a greater
degree of acquaintance with the
great Author of nature, and with
his works; it is therefore impossible
that immortality should be the result
of a perfect acquaintance with either
of these sciences only. This David
attests, when he says, " The heavens
proclaim the glory of God ; and the
firmament sheweth his handy-work.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and
night unto night showeth know-
ledge. Their line is gone out through
all the earth, and their words to the
end of the world." ( Psalm xix. 1 — 4.)
What the human faculties can perceive
and learn from the motions of the
celestial bodies is, that every mova-
ble object must be impelled by a
moving power, which infers the ex-
istence of the Deity.

But the whole of the knowledge
to be acquired from the works of
nature, if limited to them, is insuffi-
cient to impart immortality, or to
restore the soul in purity and perfec-
tion, to that exalted source from
whence it emanated. This can only
be done by means of the Divine
law. Therefore, David, after having
fully expressed all the advantages
to be derived by contemplating the
works of nature, concludes with
saying, " The law of the Lord is
perfect and restoreth the soul," &c. ;
(Psalm xix. 7 ;) thereby to de-
note the preference of the Divine
laws to those of nature and society,
as we fully demonstrated in the
eighth chapter of our first division, to
which we refer. This proves beyond
all doubt or contradiction, that it is a
knowledge of the Deity and of his law
alone, and not any human science,

that can confer perfection or immor-
tality ; and this knowledge of the
Deity must be founded on truth and
exempt from human fallibility. It
is impossible that human knowledge
should attain the universal wisdom
evinced in creation : Therefore some
philosophers denied the immortality
of the soul, as they maintain that hu-
man wisdom cannot acquire perfect
and universal knowledge; as what-
ever he acquires must bs mere hypo-
thesis and uncertain, which is proved
by the fact, that many of the most
celebrated philosophers entertained
contrary opinions on the same sub-
ject, both of which could of course
not be right. And if perfection is to
depend on the accuracy of mere hu-
man science, one of these disputants
must be created in vain and without
a purpose.

But it is a fact, that opinions like
those of the philosophers which we
have mentioned, are most pernicious,
and only lead the mind astray. For,
after diving into the most profound
depths of mysteries inscrutable to
mere humanreason, they lay before us
useless, offensive, or noxious weeds,
as the reward of their toils. To
these David alludes, when he says :
" Speculations I hate, but thy law
I love." (Psalm cxix. 113.) His
meaning is : I ha'-e the idle specula-
tions of human philosophy, for they
are useless and lead us astray ; but i
love thy law, for it affords us certain-
ty, and places the means of attaining
perfection within the reach of every
one who obeys its commandments.
For these means must alike be with-
in the grasp of every member of the
human species ; for, as every other
gift of nature to any species of rni-
mals is extended to all the members
of that species, although to some
in a greater degree than to others ;
so likewise the peculiar and exclu-
sive gift of ths Creator to man, per-
fection and immortality, is alike ex-
tended to every member of the hu-
man race ; and the greater or less
degree results from the free-will of
the individual. Nor are these means
limited to any particular age or ge-
neration, as otherwise mankind
would be created in vain, which is
utterly impossible, as no species can
or does exist distinguished in form.

2 K 2

252

THE MISHiNA.

and endowments, which should either
be created without a peculiar and
distinct purpose, or not possess the
means of attaining the purpose for
which it has manifestly been in-
tended by its Creator. Therefore
Aristotle says, " We are certain that
a time must come, and cannot for
ever be delayed, when all men will
become attached to truth, and strive
to attain a knowledge of the Deity,
the thirst for which is implanted in

their nature." He justly makes this
assertion because he felt, that, if
such were not the case, mankind is
created in vain.

But as this assertion of Aristotle
is not yet become realized, it is our
duty to examine whether any, and
what, means are placed within the
reach of all or the greater part of
mankind, by the aid of which they
may attain the perfection of purpose
or immortal felicity.

(To be continued.) ^

IV. THE MISHNA.

, Mescheth Aboth .- " THE ETHICS OP THE FATHERS."

P^ p. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

(Continued from page 231.)

Jose the son of Joezer, a man of Zoredah, and Jose the son of Johanan, a man of
Jerusalem, obtained the law from him (Antigonua of Socho). Jose the son of Joezer,
saith, " Let thine house be a place of assemblage to wise men,* co^er thyself with the dust
of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst. (I. 4.)

COMMENTARY. Jose the son of
Joezer, a man of Zoredah, and Jose
the son of Johanan, a man of Jerusa-
lem, 4~c. — In the Talmud (treatise
Chayiga ) we are told, that whenever
two tanaim, or " Teachers," are
named in the ]Vlishna, as conjointly
succeeding to the transmission of the
law, one of them is the Nassi or
"Prince," and the second Ab-beth-
din, " the Father or President of the
tribunal." These two tanaim were
contemporaries with Antiochus Epi-
phanes, who endeavoure 1 to destroy
the Jews.

Let thine house be a place of assem-
bly, Sfc. — These three maxims, al-
though confined to the law, do, ne-
vertheless, likewise contain the t-.vo
other greater principles which per-
vade the sayings of the tanaim in this
treatise ; namely, worship and prac-
tical benevolence. His first maxim
is : Cherish the society of wise men,
and intercourse with them ; not only
because thou wilt profit by their
instruction, but because it is in the
nature of the soul that intercourse
with those who are devoted to Divine

* By this designation the Mishnic Teach-
ers meant those pious Snges who devoted
themselves to the study and promulgation
of the law, and who are emphatically called
D' can, -or "wise men."

contemplation will exercise a most
salutary influence on our own moral
qualities. The proof of this we fre-
quently find in Holy Writ. Of the
times of Eli the High Priest we find
it said, " And the word of the Lord
was scarce in those days, prophetic
visions did not arise." (1 Samuel
iii. 1.) But as soon as the light of
Samuel shone forth, many other
Prophets likewise became inspired ;
so that even Saul felt the influence
of the Prophetic Spirit. The Pro-
phet? in the days of Elijah knew that
he was about to leave them, because
they felt a decrease of that influence
which his superior gift exercised on
them (2 Kings ii. 3.) These instances
prove, that the presence and exam-
ple of men of superior endowments
does operate sensibly and beneficially
on those who surround them. And
as all men ought to endeavour to ap-
proximate to perfection as near as
they possibly can, the society of the
wise and pious ought to be che-
rished.

Cover thyself with the dust of their
feet — This maxim refers to worship,
and recommends us to attend and
wait on the wise, in order to learn
and improve from and by the in-
struction afforded by their example. '
Thus we read in Holy Writ : " Eli-

THE MISHNA.

253

sha the son of Shaphat is here, who
poured water on the hands of Elijah,"
or who waited on him. (2 Kings
iii. 11.) Of Joshua it is likewise said,
" His servant, Joshua the son of
Nun." (Exodus xxxiii. 11.) Nor
must man be swayed by the pride of
rank, station, or wealth ; but his first
duty is to improve his mind in that
knowledge which pious Sages by
their doctrines and example can best
impress.

And drink in their words with thirst
— This maxim refers to practical be-
nevolence, and teaches us to be ar-
dently attached to the law of God,
and a's desirous of instruction as he
who is plagued with thirst is of beve-
rage. The Prophets often compare
the longing for Divine instruction to
thirst, as, " Lo, all ye that thirst, go
to the water." (Isaiah Iv. 1.) "Be-
hold, there are days coming when I
shall send hunger on earth ; not hun-
ger for bread, or thirst for water, but
to hear the word of the Lord."
(Amos viii. 14.) Many other similar
passages might be adduced. This
maxim particularly teaches us, that
we are to receive the word of God,
in which pious and wise men instruct
us, without ratiocination, but in
purity of love, and should rejoice in
obeying them, although we may not
be able to explain to ourselves the
motives or causes for particular
commands. We are ever to re-
member, that the law is the word
of God, and "God understandeth
its way." He who does this is the
true lover of wisdom ; his heart is
faithful to God and to his holy word ;
and he only is worthy of receiving
the glorious crown of the law. But
he who limits his obedience to such
commands only as his own shallow
mind approves, does not love and
cherish the law of God, but his own
weak and conceited opinions. He
will not, in the words of our teacher,
" drink in the words of wise men
with thirst ; " but will accept of
such only as are to his own taste.
Therefore the Royal Leader of the
pious saith, " The path of faith have
I chosen ; thy statutes Tmitf are
alike to me." (Psalm cxix. 30.)
His meaning is : I do not choose, or
prefer, some of thy statutes before
others, because my reason approves

of their motives ; but to me all thy
words are alike important, because I
have faith in thee who hast com-
manded them. But though it thus
is the duty of man, not to make his
obedience to the Divine commands
dependent on his own ratiocinations,
yet, when man has attained to that
high degree of love and devotion
which inculcates perfect obedience,
it then becomes his duty to - endea-
vour clearly to understand the ten-
dency of these commands. Accord-
ingly the Poet-King prays : " Teach
me good reasons and knowledge,
because I believed in thy command-
ments." (Psalm cxix. 45.) His
meaning is : Teach me duly to un-
derstand the good reasons of thy
laws, because I already uncondition-
ally believe in them, whether I un-
derstand them or not. Thus Solo-
mon likewise teaches us, when he
says, "Acquire wisdom; acquire
understanding." (Prov. iv. 5.) By
wisdom Holy Writ mostly intends to
express " the laws of God ; " he
therefore first instructs us, Acquire
unconditional faith in, and obedience
to, the law ; which is the true wis-
dom : And when thou hast done
this, then strive with all thy faculties
to acquire a due understanding of its
motives. This twofold most eminent
quality of unconditional obedience
to the word of God as such, and the
subsequent endeavour to understand
its reasons, — was attained by our
ancestors, when they stood at Mount
Sinai, there in the Divine Presence
to receive the law. Their words
were: "Whatever the Lord com-
mands us, i"T-'-T nu.'i*:, we will do
and hear." (Exodus, xxiv. 7-) First,
we declare our willing obedience,
and readiness to do whatever the
Lord commands ; and then "TU".
we will hear, a word which frequently
is used in the Sacred Scriptures to
express " understand : " As, for
instance, " A nation whose language
"TUT! sb, thou shalt not understand."
(Deut. \xvii. 490 The Israelites at
that time were perfect in their faith :
They knew that the commands of
the Lord, emanating from the Source
of all wisdom, nmst all be alike
wise, though their limited faculties
might not be able to penetrate the

254 THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDE3

motives of some of these commands. Israelite ; hut when, subsequently,

They therefore express, first, their they committed the heinous offence

determination unconditionally to of the golden calf, these crown* were

obey whatever is commanded to taken from them, as it is written :

them, and, subsequently, that they ' They stripped off their ornaments

will endeavour to understand the from Mount Horeb.' (Exod. xxiii. 6.)

true meaning of these commands. These two crowns were obedience and

These two qualities are often understanding, like the holy angels,

called " the two great crowns ; " as who diligently obey the commands

our Rabbies say, in Pirke Rabbi of the Most High; which whilst

Akiva, " Rabbi Simoe preached : obeying they endeavour to compre-

When the Israelites first said, ' We hend ; as it is written, " The

will do and afterwards we will un- mighty in power obey his behests,

derstand,' the angelic host attached in order to understand the voice of

two crowns to the brow of every his commands." (Psalm ciii. 20.)
(To be continued.)

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

Sm, — I have the pleasure of enclosing to you part of the comment of
the great Maimonides on the Treatise pbn, which I have translated.

I beg to observe that my aim has not been the attainment of any
particular style or elegance of diction, but simply to express the opinion
of our great luminary, on a most interesting subject, in the language of
the present day. Since writing it, I understand that a translation is to
be found in a small work on the ni!m ''plQ, written by a Mr. Abra-
hams about sixty or seventy years ago. That, however, I presume, is
not much known ; so that the opinions of the Rambam could not obtain
that general notoriety which they will now have, in your valuable and
widely-circulated publication, should you consider the inclosed worthy
of insertion. I remain,

Yours most obediently,

4, Bury-street, St. Mary Axe, E. N.

13th January, 1835.

THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDES

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE p^Tl.

ALL Israel have a portion in the world to come ; as it is written, " And your nation are
all righteous, for ever shall they inherit the land : the branch of my planting, the
work of my hands, that I may he glorified." (Isaiah Ix. 21.)

MANY serious and important prin- again have been productive of such

ciples of faith here claim our con- confusion that few are to be found

sideration. Those versed in the law whose ideas are clear, and whose

are divided in their opinions as to the conclusions on the subject are, in

good which is to accrue to us by our some degree, undisturbed by doubts,

observance of the commandments One class of reasoners consider

received by us from the Almighty that the good is the garden of Eden,

by the hands of Moses, our in- where worldly pleasures are enjoyed

structer, (peace be with him !) and without trouble or labour, in noble

the evil which is to be the conse- edifices of precious stones, on silk-

quence of our neglect of those pre- en couches, in places where rivers of

cepts. The different turns of men's wine, precious oils, and all the

minds and acquirements have caused choicest productions of nature that

a great variety of opinions, which can tend to increase the sources of

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE CHELECK.

255

delight, abound ; and that the evil is
Gehinnom, where the sins of man-
kind are visited on them by con-
suming fires and many other species
of just retribution, the detail of
which would fill volumes. This
class ground their opinion on several
expressions of OUT Rabbles of blessed
memory, and on passages in the
Scriptures, the literal signification
cf which seems at first sight to cor-
roborate their doctrines.

The second class look upon the
days of the Messiah (may he speedily
redeem us !) as the desired good ;
and think that in his times all men
will enjoy an angelic and an eternal
state of existence, continually pro-
gressing in happiness ; that he will
reign under the particular protection
of Providence ; and that the earth
will then bring forth garments ready
made, produce bread ready baked,
and many other impossible things of
the same,' kind. The evil they con-
sider to be the disqualification,
through want of merit, to live in
those felicitous times. They bring
as authority for what they advance
various sayings of the sages, and
parts of the Scripture which they
apply to their opinions wholly or
partially.

With the third class the chief
good is the re-animation of the dead ;
which implies, that man shall live
after his death, and re-associate with
his connections and family, enjoying
the pleasures of life, undiminished
by the fear of dissolution : And in
their view the evil consists in not
living after the period of ordinary
life. They deduce their opinions
from many sayings of the wise men,
and from parts of Holy Writ, of
which their explanation bears on
what they maintain or on part of it.

The fourth class hold, that the
benefit arising from the perform-
ance of the commandments is bodily
ease and increasing prosperity in this
world, such as fruitful lands, ample
property, numerous children, corpo-
real health, peace and security under
the protection of a King in Israel, with
power over those who seek to op-
press us : And the evil which will
befal us, on our disobeying the law,
will be these circumstances reversed
in the manner of our present suffer-

ings in this state of our captivity.
They. ground their sentiments on
passages in the law, and on the de-
nunciations of curses, which they
confirm by the historical circum-
stances narrated in Scripture.

The fifth, who are the most nume-
rous class, combine the above opinions,
and say that the point of hope is the
coming of the Messiah, the re-ani-
mation of the dead, the entering
into the garden of Eden, and the
possession of bodily enjoyments
there to all eternity.

But there are very few who can
define this marvellous point — the
world to come, who enter into its
principle, who inquire to what it
tends, who endeavour to distinguish
between the good itself, its aim and
object, or that which conduces to it,
or who turn their attention to the
discrimination of the various pre-
ceding notions ; but rather, both
among the ordinary kinds of people,
and those of better understanding,
questions are asked ; such as, how
the dead shall rise, whether naked
or clothed, &c., &c ; whether the
distinctions of rich and poor, strong
and weak, shall continue among men
in the days of the Messiah ; and many
other inquiries of the same nature. ,,

Now, thou who art reading this
book, attend to the tale I am going
to relate to thee, by which thou wilt
understand my meaning throughout.
Figure to thyself a young child,
brought to a master to receive in-
struction, who is exceedingly kind to
him, to induce him to learn ; but as
his extreme youth prevents him from
appreciating the advantages of learn-
ing, and his tender years protect
him from compulsion, the master
leads him to study by the promise of
things sought for by children of his
years, and holds out to him the re-
ward of a few figs, almonds, or a little
honey, by which means the child
reads and exerts himself, not for the
sake of the reading itself, because its
advantage are not known to him,
but for the purpose of obtaining the
reward, which is more valuable in
his opinion than the reading, which
he looks upon only as a labour, and
to be attended to solely for the pur-
pose of acquiring the wished-for
end, which, with him, is a little

256

DEATH OF R. DAVID FRIEDLANDEK.

honey, or a few almonds. As he
grows up, and his understanding
improves, he thinks lightly of those
things which he before prized ; and
turning his mind to other objects, it
becomes needful to excite him by the
promise of something which, in his
estimation at that period of life,
seems more valuable ; and handsome
clothing becomes the promised re-
ward of his reading, which he culti-
vates only with a view to the pos-
session of the gay attire, without
considering as to the importance of
the reading in itself. When his ideas
expand, he seeks other inducements,
which are offered to him in the shape
of money ; so that the course of
reading is still continued, but he
regards it solely as the means by
which the money, or any other pro-
mised and desirable object, is to be
obtained. But when his under-
standing becomes more matured,
his former inducements lose their
importance, being no longer viewed
according to his previous estimate
of their value. Ambition is then em-
ployed ; and he is told to regard his
acquirements as the means of be-
coming a ruler or a judge, or of ob-
taining respect and honour among
mankind ; and the aim is, with him,
the consideration and regard which
he is to enjoy from those around
him, and not the learning which is
the medium of those advantages.

Now this simile at least goes to
show, that many persons consider
wisdom in a far different and inferior
light than its real and intrinsic
worth, making the cultivation of
knowledge and science but the road
to honour and to other advantages.
And this foolish notion concerning
truth and knowledge is what the
Rabbies have called, "wisdom per-
verted from its proper end ;" such
as performing the Commandments
with exactitude, and studying the
Law with assiduity, not for the sake
of that which the observance of that
Law and those Commandments
themselves confer, but for some se-
condary object. They have expa-
tiated on this topic, and said, "Thou
shalt not use the law as a crown with
which to aggrandize thyself, or as a
spade with which to dig." And they
have hinted at what I have noticed
to you, that it is not the end of wis-
dom to receive from mankind hon-
our, or pecuniary profit ; and that,
far from making the law of God the
means even of obtaining a livelihood,
the only end in acquiring wisdom
should be to know it for its own
sake ; and thus that there should be no
other object before our eyes, in the
acquisition of truth, than to know
what truth is, and that the TORAH is
truth ; the end of knowing which, is
the performance of our duties.

(To be continued.")

DEATH OF R. DAVID FRIEDLANDER.

IT is our painful duty to announce to our readers the death of the vener-
able and celebrated R. David Friedlander, at Berlin. He was born at Ko-
nigsberg, in Prussia, in the year 1750, and became the pupil and confiden-
tial friend of the great Mendelsohn. Like him, the welfare and improve-
ment of his brethren was a constant object of his cares. He was author of
several Hebrew and German works of distinguished merit : His bwiUP rten,
or German translation of the Hebrew Liturgy, have long and deservedly
enjoyed the highest approbation. Asa man of considerable wealth and in-
fluence, his patronage and active support were freely yielded to those of his
brethren whose necessities-, or talents, entitled them to the notice of this
great and good man ; to whose exertions the Prussian Jews are chiefly in-
debted for those rights of citizenship which at present they enjoy. This
last survivor of the splendid galaxy of talent and virtue, formed by, and con-
temporaryjwith, Mendelsohn and Wessely, died at the advanced age of eighty-
five years, and in the full possession of his faculties, at Berlin, in the be-
ginning of last month.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

AND

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWEXTY-SECOXD DAY OF TEBATH, 5593.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 1835,

No. 17.

f. OX THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IX THE COUNTENANCE

AXD BEARIXG OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

(Continued from page 244 J

FROM the death of Joshua until the
appointment of Saul as King over the
Israelites is computed a period of
about four hundred years The fatal
disobedience of the command, not to
desist from the war until the seven
nations were entirely rooted out from
the land, occasioned that period to
be marked with intervals of di.-aster
and sufferings to the people, as was
announced would be the case. (Judges
ii. 1 — 4.) Yet of the four hundred
years, about three hundred were
passed in peace and happiness, as the
fruits of the observance of their laws;
and if we wish to represent to cur-
selves the characteristic traits which
distinguished the countenance and
bearing of the nation generally du-
ring that period, we have only to turn
to those laws, to the incidents related
in their history, and to the manners
and customs that prevailed among
them, to be satisfied, that they must
have been such as became a people
whom the Deity had vouchsafed to
call his own, and for whose conduct
he had laid down such rules as might
render them worthy of that high
dignity.

That they were an intellectual
people and of exalted sentiments, can
scarcely be doubted if we look to the
effects which only the knowledge of
their origin, the wonders that had
been performed on their behalf, and
in their very sight, as well as the
tone and stile in which those events
and their law were handed down to
them in their sacred writings might
reasonably be expected to produce
on their minds, and consequently on
their appearance and deportment.

The very existence among them,

2

from the earliest period of their his-
tory, of such a book as Job, argues
them to have been of a highly culti-
vated understanding in the truest
sense ; and that they understood and
relished it, is sufficiently clear from
its having been preserved by them
among their canonical books to this
day. It would be quite absurd, there-
fore, to ascribe to them the character
of a nation of pious but simple hus-
bandmen, at the period of their his-
tory to which we are immediately
alluding.

That Moses himself possessed con-
siderable scientific knowledge, is
manifest from the signs of it dis-
played in the books attributed to
him. That he did not expatiate
more fully upon them in those books,
evinces his sound judgment, correct
taste, and perfect sense of the more
important duty he had it in com-
mand to perform, and which he stead-
ily kept in view, by confining him-
self principally to that most difficult,
exalted, and important of sciences,
the teaching of man a knowledge of
himself, and the way in which he
should walk. And we observe the
same course strictly adhered to by
all those pious and wise men that
followed him ; for though many, like
Solomon, were probably skilled in
the sciences, none are ever found,
seduced by vanity, obtruding what
knowledge they possessed on such
subjects into their writings, devoted
to far higher purposes.

The acquaintance of Moses with
natural history appears not to have
been small, from the concise and ac-
curate manner in which he classed
the animals, &c., when delivering the

258 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN* THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

command relating to what might or
might not be eaten ; and physicians
of the present age have confessed
the profound discernment displayed,
by the selection of such as are whole-
some from such as are detrimental
to health. Indeed in this, as in other
knowledge, it may be presumed he
was deeply conversant, since it was
derived from the Fountain of all wis-
dom and knowledge.

Recent discoveries in the sciences
are every day affording fre^h proofs,
that more extensive scientific know-
ledge prevailed in that age than was
once suspected, but upon which it
would be out -of our course to extend
farther our remarks at present.

What knowledge Moses possessed
upon such subjects he would doubt-
less impart to his contemporaries, and
they again would hand it down to
succeeding generations ; not con-
fining it to the few, but diffusing it
very generally over the whole peo-
ple ; to whom, it might be said, it was
almost indispensable that they should
be better able to understand the
attributes of the Deity which were
constantly being brought under their
notice, the wisdom of His laws, and
the beneficent purposes for which
they were commanded to be obeyed.

We must recollect that the Israel-
ite?, from the beginning, were re-
peatedly and expressly commanded
to study, and to reflect on, their laws,
in order perfectly to understand and
perform them, as might be shown
from innumerable passages in Holy
Writ.

The expostulating and paternal
appeal to them, — " And now Israel,
what doth the Lord thy God require
of thee, but to fear the Lord thy
God, to walk in all his ways, and to
love him, and to serve the Lord thy
God,' with all thy heart and all
thy soul ; to keep the commandments
of the Lord and his statutes which I
command you this day for thy
good?" (Dent. x. 12, 13,)— plainly
implies that upon examination they
must acknowledge the excellence of
those laws, and thence see the wisdom
of giving them a prompt and willing
obedience ; and in chap. xxix. verse
29, where it is more explicitly said that
" the secret things belong unto the
Lord our God ; but those things

which are revealed to us belong
unto us and to our children for ever,
that we may do all the words of this
law."

The command to study their law
carried with it most important con-
sequences, especially when combined
with that other, "Ye shall not add
unto the word which I command you,
neither shall ye diminish ought from
it." (Deut. iv. 2.) It was intended,
no doubt, and well calculated it was
for the purpose, as much for their
own individual benefit as for pre-
serving the religion, to the remotest
ages, from being corrupted by craft
or ignorance. The head of every
family was thus bound to learn per-
fectly what his religion taught, that
he might understand its true spirit
and teach it to his children. It was
a religion that could bear being ex-
posed to the noon-day sun, and re-
quired neither to be wrapped up in
mysteries nor to be kept in dark-
ness.

We may infer likewise from this
command, that it was the will of the
Creator that man should employ the
faculties of the soul He had given
him in contemplating and continually
approaching nearer to a knowledge
of His greatness and unbounded
goodness. It would be difficult
therefore to conceive how a people so
instructed, could be otherwise than
highly intellectual and exalted in
mind.

We shall enter into no details of
the actions of those distinguished
personages that appeared during the
interval of time we are upon, for the
purpose of forming an idea of the
national courage and fortitude. We
shall observe only that these quali-
ties were of that character, and the
occasions upon which they were dis-
played were such, as to elevate and
entitle them to be ranked among the
virtues of the nation. We shall
hereafter advert to some instances of
a most sublime description.

It is a remarkable feature in the
whole history of this people, that
they were never inspired with the
mad ambition of overrunning the
world, and [reducing it under
their dominion ; once in quiet pos-
session of the land assigned them,
they appear to have been satisfied

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL

with their lot, and would most pro-
bably have remained at peace with
their neighbours, if thty would have
remained at peace with them. No
greedy desire to extend their territo-
ries, and to subject other men to
their government, nor hot zeal to
convert others to their faith, ever
caused them to deluge the earth with
human gore. Peace with all man-
kind was evidently their desire, if
all mankind would he at peace with
them ; and yet, as many very nota-
ble instances prove, this peaceable
disposition was not owing to any
want of personal courage. If
other nations desired to enter
into the same covenant with
themselves towards their Cod, they
were to be received, by the com-
mand of their law ; but neither soli-
citation, deceit, nor compulsion was
to be used to lead or force unwilling
hearts to worship the God of Israel.
This, it must be conceded, was ever
the line'pursued by the Jews. They
appear in all ages to have been sensi-
ble .that an unwilling heart was no
fit offering for their God ; yet let it
not be supposed that a selfish or ex-
clusive spirit occasioned them to
observe, what some might too lightly
call, a blamable, if not a criminal,
backwardness, in not endeavouring
to extend to othtrs the blessings
which the Most High had poured
upon them, in giving them His ex-
cellent laws, and imparting to them
so much invaluable knowledge, and
so many sublime ; truths : They
must have known, on the contrary,
— for their Sacred Writings bear evi-
dence of it, — that the religion of the
Jeu-s was intended to make its way
to the rest of mankind", but through
the example rather than the solicita-
tion of the people chosen to be its
depository. Their acquiring perfec-
tion in wisdom and understanding,
and attaining happiness and pros-
perity through the observance of its
laws, were the means that would
OL fusion nations first to admire, and
then to desire to be instructed in
them.

This, which was evidently the pur-
explains why the Israelites
were required to be a holier, a more
righteous, and a wiser people than
any other, in order to come up to

the full standard of moral perfec-
tion laid down for them, or they
could not expect to experience to
their fullest extent those blessings
that were promised them, on condi-
tion only of the complete perform-
ance of the covenant entered into by
them. The Sacred Writings through-
out clearly point this out, and afford
abundant'eviJence that the Israelites
were chosen by the Mosc High as
one of the great instruments in His
hands to work out his beneficent
intentions to the whole human race ;
they must not, therefore, wonder
that no compromise can be entered
into with them ; that perfection, or,
at least, an earnest endeavour to
attain it by the nation generally, is
expected of them.

We shall now turn to an incident
of the times of the Judges truly
characteristic of the virtues which
the Jewish dispensation was emi-
nently calculated to promote, and
which appears to have shone forth
at that period in all its mild lustre.

The history of Ruth furnishes an
occasion for illustrating our remark,
that the people were pious and intel-
lectual, and could by no means be
designated as simple ; or, if conduct
and actions such as we are going to
relate render the actors of them
deserving of no higher title, it is
surprising that we find such is to be
the simplicity of that age to which
the eyes of all mankind are directed
with a longing desire that it may
arrive at their day : The age in
which it is predicted, that "the
wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the
kid," and that " they shall not
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain : For the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah
xi. 6, 9 ) And, " in that day shall
there be upon the bells of the
horses, Holiness unto the Lord ! "
(Zechariah xiv. 20.)

From what obliquity is it in the
human understanding that the culti-
vator of the highest subjects it is
possible for man to exercise his rea-
son upon — the study of himself and
of his duties — should have the same
appellation bestowed upon him which
is usually applied to rude and

2 L 2

260

OX THK CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS, &C'.

Bncultivated peasantry ? Let us see
whether Boaz is such a character.

The story is affecting in the high-
est degree. Naomi, an Israelite,
her husband and their two sons,
are induced, on account of a
famine which prevailed in their own
country, to remove to Moab, where,
the two sons having married, both
they and their father die, leaving
behind them the three widows.
Naomi, -learning "how that the
Lord had visited his people in giving
them bread," is about to return
again to her own land, and exhorts
her two daughters-in-law to abide
with their own families : They both
at first refuse, and wish to accom-
pany her; but after remonstrating
with them, Orpah leaves her, " but
Ruth clave to her," and thus touch-
ingly asserts her firm resolve never
in this life to quit her. Naomi tells
her, " Behold, thy sister-in-law is
gone back to her people, and unto
her gods ; return thou after thy sis-
ter-in-law. And Ruth said, Intreat
me not to leave rthee, or to 'return
from following after thee : For whi-
ther thou goest, I will go ; and
where thou lodgest, I will lodge :
Thy people shall be my people, and
thy God my God : Where thou diest,
will I die, and there will I be buried :
The Lord do so to me, and more
also, if ought but death part thee
and me."

We shall see presently how this
affection for the mother of her hus-
band, and devotion to their God, are
rewarded.

• Arrived in her own land, the people
gather around Naomi, and express
their surprise at seeing her again
after so long an absence ; and asking
each other doubtingly, " Is this
Naomi ? " she sorrowfully bids
them call her. not Naomi, (sweet,)
but Mara, (bitter,') for it had pleas-
ed God to make ^her lot very bit-
ter ; and then relates her own and
Ruth's story.

Among the kinsmen of her hus-
band is a man named Boaz, who is
wealthy. Naomi living near to his
fields, Ruth asks and obtains her per-
mission to go into them to glean of
the harvest, which was then being
gathered in. There Boaz encounters
and speaks kindly to Ruth : " Hear-

est thou not, my daughter ? Go not
to glean in another field, neither go
from hence, but abide here fast by
my maidens. Let thine eyes be on
the field that they do reap, and go
thou after them : Have I not charged
the young men that they should not
touch thee ? And when thou art
athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink
of that which the young men have
drawn." Ruth, expiessing her gra-
titude for such kindness, notwith-
standing her being a stranger, he
answers, "It hath fully been shewed
me, all that thou hast done unto thy
mother-inlaw since the death of thine
husband : And how thou hast left
thy father, and thy mother, and the
land of thy nativity, and art come
unto a people whom thou knewesi
not heretofore. The Lord recom-
pense thy work, and a full reward
be given thee, of the Lord God of
Israel, under whose wings thou art
come to trust."

He then desires his young men
not to confine themselves merely to
leaving for the gleaners that which
was fallen, or that which was in the
corners of the field, which the law
directs should be left for the poor
and the stranger, but to let fall
hands-full of wheat purposely for
her, and to allow her to glean even
out of the sheaves.

Naomi, desirous to settle her
daughter-in-law again in marriage,
takes measures to remind Boaz, that
there is a duty incumbent on the
part of her husband's kinsmen to
preserve his name from becoming
extinct in his tribe, in obedience to
the, law which Boaz immediately
recognises ; but knowing there was
a kinsman who had a prior right to
himself, he submits the matter to
him, and he, pleading that it would
mar his own inheritance if he ful-
filled the duty which was owing to the
dead, assigns his prior right over to
Boaz, who gladly embraces the
opportunity to secure to himself the
virtuous and good Ruth.

The story of Ruth is evidently
introduced into the Scriptures for
the purpose of showing the descent
of David from Boaz and that virtu-
ous woman. And we are arrived at
that period of the history of the
Israelites when, not long after, they

THE MISHNA.

261

would be found very injudiciously
and sinfully demanding to have a
King set over them, like unto other
nations. It would appear that this
event was foreseen, and that
God, who had taken this people
under his special protection, would
not abandon them for their foolish
rejection of his dominion for that of
an earthly Prince, but was thus be-
times preparing to raise one up wbo
would lead his people in the way
they should go, by choosing a wor-
thy stock out of which he should
spring. •

The King most fitting to carry
into complete effect the Divine pro-
mise, of settling his people in the
possession of the whole land that
had been promised to their fore-
fathers, and at the same time to
establish the worship of their God
in its utmost purity and sublimity,
must be one whose'whole heart would
be devoted to His service. And
whence could such a heart be more
likely to come, or who more worthy to
be the progenitors of such ajservant of
the true God, than Boaz, a man who
seemed himself to have walked
uprightly before Him, and, above all,

than Ruth who, when" a poor be-
nighted creature, yearned after the
God of Israel, and would on no
account be persuaded back to the
idolatrous worship of her father's
gods ?

This is the kind of heart which it
is repeatedly said the God[of the
universe -requires to be offered for
His service. None other is accept-
able to Him ; and it affords a com-
plete solution of that pretended
difficulty involved in the foolish, if
not impious, question, " Why does
evil exist ? " " Why does not a bene-
ficent God dispose all mankind to be
just and virtuous ? " — Because, pre-
sumptuous and blind mortals, ye are
not machines, nor of the brute crea-
tion, that are moved only by their
instincts. You have the higher privi-
lege of being free agents ; — take rare
how you abuse it. If ye approach your
God as Ruth did, He has promised to
strengthen you in your virtuous re-
solves. But where would be your
merit, or your rank in the creation,
had it been out of your power to do
evil, and you had been compelled to
do well ?

A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

II. THE MISHNA.

rcro, Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

pi? P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

(Continued from page 254.)

Jose the son of Johanan, a man of Jerusalem, said : " Let thy house he open
as an asylum to the suffering. Let O"3?, the poor in spirit, be thy inmates ; and do
not hold long conversations with womankind. This rule applies to thine own wife ; and
much more forcibly to the wife of another man. (I. 5.)

COMMENTARY. Jose the son of Jo- Jj€t thy house be open to the suffer-
hanan, Sfc. — This teacher wishes to {ng — This maxim teaches the duty

The word fftfO

illustrate the maxim of Simon the
Just, relative to practical benevo-
lence, under which he also includes
law and worship. For, as we have
already demonstrated, the maxims of
practical benevolence inculcated by
the Mishnic tanaim or " teachers "
in this treatise comprise instruction
in the duties which man owes to his
Creator, to his neighbour, and to
himself. To correspond with these
threefold duties, Jose the son of Jo-
hanan teaches us the above three
maxims.

to our neighbours.
is derived from nT% the primary sig-
nification of which is "large ;" but
in the Sacred Scriptures it is only
used for the purpose of expressing
the transition or enlargement of the
mind, from a state of oppression and
suffering to one of ease and comfort :
As we find by Saul, that " David
took a harp, and played with his
hand, "»? rrn and Saul was comfort-
ed ; " (1 Sam. xvi. 23 ;) or relieved
from the oppression and gloom of

262

THE MISHXA.

his mind. The same word is used
by Mordecai in his remonstrance to
Esther, when he says, " For if thou
altogether boldest thy peace at this
time, mi enlargement and deliver-
ance will arise to the Jews from
another place ; " (Esther iv. 14 ;) to
relieve them from the oppression and
suffering inflicted on them by Ha-
inan. Again: " But when Pharaoh
saw that there was nrmn, an en-
largement or respite," (Exod. viii.
15,) from the suffering inflicted on
him by the visitation of frogs. Our
instructer therefore uses this word
in order to teach us, that our house
ought to be open as a ready asylum
to all who suffer or are oppressed,
that by us they may find enlarge-
ment from their pains, and com-
fort and consolation. To the hun-
gry grant food, to the thirsty
refreshing beverage, to the naked
clothing, to the houseless shelter, to
the unjustly oppressed an asylum, to
the sick thy aid, and in short, thy
assistance and influence to him, who-
soever he be, that standeth in need of
it. And should thy own means be so
limited that thou canst not afford ac-
tual succour to all who suffer, show
them at least thy commiseration,
console them, advise with them,
convince them that thou feelest for
them, and in no case let the unfor-
tunate sufferer be either excluded
from thy house, or allow him to
leave it without thy earnest endea-
vour to assuage his sorrows. He
who bestows his largess on the poor,
but excludes the unfortunate from
his presence, has not yet attained the
true virtue of practical benevolence.
Let 0*0^ ' the poor in spirit ' be
thy inmates — This maxim has refer-
ence to worship. The word tD^y,
is not here used to express " the ne-
cessitous," and that these are to consi-
der themselves at home in thy house ;
for the command to be charitable to
them is repeatedly enforced in
the law, and the preceding maxim
directs us to welcome and comfort
them. But the intention of our
teacher here is, to inculcate that
sublime morality which is connected
with our duties to our Creator.
" Poor " is in Hebrew expressed by
two synonymous words, W and 71.

The first "conveys mental' distress,
rather than absolute want, which is
expressed by the second. And ac-
cordingly we find the word 'OJ? used
throughout Holy Writ to express
mental agony, humiliation, contri-
tion, and that state of mind which
renounces honour and ambition from
a sense of its own unworthiness ; so
that whenever the word 'Ji? stands
alone, it denotes a pious man, or
one whose ways are virtuous. It is
a known fact, that King David
(peace be with him !) amassed great
riches from the immense booty
which he made ; his treasures were
truly royal ; nevertheless he calls
himself ^y : "I am ^y and sorrow-
ful." (Psalm Ixix. 29.) Again :
"I in "W, have ^prepared for the
house of God." (1 Chron. xxii. 14.)
Surely the riches which on that oc-
casion he enumerates fully prove,
that his meaning could not be to
call himself " poor." His intention
is, to express his sense of his own
unworthiness, as in the first quota-
tion that of his mental agony and
humiliation. Thus Holy Writ also
says, " This ^i? calleth, and the Lord
hears." (Psalm xxxiv. 6.) "To these
will I look, to the \2J? and contrite
spirit." (Isaiah Ixvi. 2.) In all
these quotations, and manifold other
passages of Holy Writ, this word is
used, not to express destitution or
want, but the humility and absence
of £.11 vanity with which the righ-
teous approaches his Creator. And
accordingly our instructer affords us
the double lesson, not only that the
necessitous are to be domesticated
with vis, but that the poor in spirit
are to be our inmates ; that we are
to avoid associating with the haughty
and proud in spirit, as frequent in-
tercourse with them seldom fails to
infect the mind with the pernicious
poison of their example. Accord-
ingly the pious Monarch says, " I
will behave myself wisely in a per-
fect way. I will walk in purity of
heart within my house. I will place
no evil thing before mine eyes. I
hate the work of the transgressors :
It shall not cleave unto me. A per-
verted heart shall depart from me.
I will know no evil. He who hath
a high look and a proud heart will I

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABEIES.

not suffer. My eyes shall be upon
the faithful of the land, that they
may dwell with me : He that walk-
eth in a perfect way, he shall serve
me. He that worketh deceit shall
not dwell within my house; he that
telleth l:es shall not tarry in my
sight." (Psalm ci. 2-7.) the Poet-
King commences by saying : When
I am alone, T will contemplate )and
reflect wisely, that I may choose and
accustom myself to purity and per-
fection. I will avoid the pernicious
intercourse of the proud and wicked,
in order that I may not be corrupted
by their evil communications. And
I will surround myself with the
pious and meek, who alone merit my
confidence. Our instructer, having
first told us that no unfortunate suf-
ferer must be excluded from our
presence or relief, next teaches us to
select those only for our associates
whose piety and meekness may influ-
ence us properly to fulfil our duties
towards our Maker.

And do not hold long conversations
with womankind — This has a refer-
ence to the law. Our instructer
does not inculcate, that in our inter-
course with the weaker sex we are

to be abrupt or overbearing ; nor
does he prohibit those necessary do-
mestic communications which the
well-being of the family, and the
governance of the children and of
the household, absolutely require.
But he cautions us against yielding
to the fascinations of female conver-
sation ; becau-e, once accustomed to
devote our time and attention to
subjects tempting though trivial, we
shall thus be weaned from the due
observance of the law, and that
study and contemplation will j be
impeded which ought to take the
first place in our minds : As the sa-
cred Singer says, " How dearly do I
love thy law ! Throughout the
whole day it is the subject of my
meditations." (Psalm cxix. 97.)

This rule applies to thine own wife,
fyc. — The Mishnic teachers draw this
inference : As this caution is given
solely to prevent being impeded in
the study of the law, the conversa-
tion meant can only be with a man's
own wife. Whereas familiar converse
with the wife of his neighbour would
not only have the same effect, but
might likewise expose him to tempta-
tion and sin.

(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE5.
Sepher Ikkarim : " BOOK OF PRINCIPLES : " BY

CHAPTER IV.

THAT every created being, accord-
ing to its species, has within its
reach the means of acquiring that
perfection which is peculiar to its
kind, is a self-evident truth. That
such is likewise the case with man,
with respect to his various faculties,
is perfectly demonstrable. We see
that men whose corporeal conforma-
tion is robust, enjoy perfect health
without any effort on their own part,
as it is bestowed on them by nature,
and continues active of its own ac-
cord. Others there are whose con-
stitution is not quite so strong ; they
therefore need some exertion on their
own part (as moderate exercise, and
the like) to preserve their health.
Others, again, require great care and
exertion to attain the same object ;

R. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 252.)

while there are some whose consti-
tutional habits are by nature so weak,
that no possible efforts which they
can make will obtain for them per-
fect health, though they enjoy an
intermediate state of freedom from
actual suffering or illness. The same
gradations which we thus find in the
health of man, we likewise discover
in his acquirement of wisdom or
wealth. Some there are who obtain
either with little or no exertion ;
others must work hard to make the
same acquisition ; whilst some, not-
withstanding their greatest exertions,
can make no real progress. Thus
we see that every being attains
that degree which is proper to him,
through those means which are ap-
propriate to his nature. According-
ly the superior and separate intelli-
gences, being altogether immaterial,

264

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

are created in such manner, that,
without their co-operation, they are
gifted with innate perfection acting
of its own accord. The astral world,
which is material, is ohliged to co-
operate towards the full develope-
ment of its perfection, which is done
by means of the different movements
peculiar to each of the heavenly bo-
dies. Man, whose material compo-
sition is of a more dense nature than
that of the astral bodies, must, of
necessity, exert a greater degree of
active effort and co-operation in
order to attain that perfection which
appertains to his soul or spiritual
nature. For, were it possible that
man could, by means of contempla-
tion only, and without active exer-
tion, arrive at the perfection appro-
priate to his nature, this might like-
wise be done, and in a far more
eminent degree, by those beings
whose material composition is more
pure and subtile than his own : so
that the astral bodies would need no
movement or active exertion to reach
the perfection peculiar to their na-
ture. The last class is formed by
the brute animals, which, not par-
taking in, and being at a great dis-
tance from, all spiritual intellect,
composed of matter only, cannot at-
tain individual perfection, but are
gifted solely with the purpose com-
mon to the species.

To return to man : As he is placed
at a great distance below the supe-
rior intelligences, and his perfection,
like theirs, is individual, it requires
active efforts on his part, much
greater than theirs, to attain the
purpose of his being ; which can be
tlone only by such active exertions
as are appropriate, and calculated to
promote his great ulterior aim. And
as we said before, that contem-
plation alone is insufficient, we now
say, that corporeal activity alone is
equally insufficient ; as, were it not
so, all beings gifted with animal
life, and the consequent power of
bodily exertion, would be capable
of attaining this perfection ; which
we have proved is not the case.
Thence it necessarily results, that,
as man is composed of a body capa-
ble of active exertion, and of a soul
capable of mental contemplation, his
efforts to attain the perfection ap ,

propriate to his nature must be by
the combined exercise of his corpo-
real and spiritual activity; as the
former becomes instrumental to the
promoting of his great object, solely
from the impulse and intention con-
ferred upon it by the spiritual influ-
ence. This combined operation of
body and mind is peculiar to man
alone, and is the means by which he
can attain the perfection of purpose
appertaining to his being, placed
within his reach, and dependent on
the effort and will of his own mind.
Thus we see that the philosophers
whose opinions";we mentioned in
preceding chapters, and their ad-
herents, are wrong when they say
that contemplation and reason alone
confer perfection on man.

CHAPTER v.

THE spiritual activity called " con-
templation," of which we spoke in
the preceding chapter, as promoting
the perfection of purpose, when com-
bined with corporeal activity, is not
reason or understanding only, but is
the intention which results from the
will of the soul ; that is to say, he
who performs any bodily movement
or action must combine with it the
pure intention to serve or worship
his Creator by the act which he per-
forms ; his sole motive must be to
please Him, and no other purpose
whatsoever. In so doing, man imi-
tates the movements of the astral
bodies ; which likewise have no
other motive than obedience to their
Creator, and which, in thus unceas-
ingly moving in their spheres, ac-
cording to the decree of their Maker,
attain the perfection of purpose ap-
propriate to their being : This the Sa-
cred Singer expresses, while meditat-
ing on the praises due from man to
his God for all his mercies and boun-
ties ; he commences with an exhorta-
tion to his soul: "My soul, praise
the Lord : do not forget all his bene-
fits." (Psalm ciii. 2.) He then speaks
of the stars and planets ; and closes
with, " Praise ye the Lord, all his
hosts, his servants who perform his
will." (Psalm ciii. 21.) The purpose
of all the movements of the heaven-
ly host is none other than to ohey
his will. This is the object to be

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

265

attained by his creatures in their
adoration and service ; and therefore
the poet says of the superior and
separate intelligences, whose sole
end, aim, and intention is to obey
the will of the Most High, " Praise
ye the Lord, his angels, mighty in
power, who obey his behests, to
hearken to" (or obey) " the voice of
his word ;" (Psalm ciii. 20 ;) without
any expectation of reward, or any
other motive than pure obedience.
This is their sole desire, purpose,
and perfection. The men of the
Great Assembly, in establishing our
Litu-gy, agree with the Psalmist,
that the movements of the different
bodies in the universe are performed
out of obedience to the Creator.
Accordingly, in their ritual of bless-
ings for the sanctification of the new
moon, they say, " Blessed art thou,
O Lord our God, King of the Uni-
verse ! who with thy word createdst
the firmaments, and, with the breath
of thy mouth, all their hosts. A
stated period hast thou assigned to
them, that they deviate not from
their prescribed office. They are
delighted and rejoice to perform the
will of their Creator." All that we
have hitherto quoted proves, that
corporeal activity, combined with,
and influenced by, the intention to
perform the will of the Lord, and
to obey his commands, is the true
means of attaining the perfection of
purpose to intellectual beings, com-
prising man. To the truth of this
assertion the Prophet bears evidence,
when he promises a reward to those
who delight in the Sabbath, and says,
" If thou abstainest from thy cus-
tomary labours on the Sabbath, or
from doing thy work on my holy
day ; if thou proclaimest the Sab-
bath a deiight, honoured to the
sanctification of the Lord, then shall
thou delight thyself in the Lord ; he
shall make thee to ride the high
places of the earth, and feed thee
with the inheritance of Jacob thy
father." (Isaiah Iviii. 14.) Our Rab-
bies enlarge on the extraordinary re-
wards which await him who delights
in the Sabbath-day. And although
delight is a sensation of the material
body, of which man is capable, not
as a composite, but as an animate,
being, it becomes] meritorious to the

soul, being ennobled by the intention
and devotion to the will of God, and
obedience to his commands ; with-
out which it doubtless degenerates
into mere physical or animal indul-
gence. Accordingly our Rabbies of
blessed memory say, " Two men
roasted thtir paschal lamb. One
ate thereof with the intention of per-
forming the paschal command; the
other, with that of satisfying the
cravings of his appetite. Of the first
it is said, ' The ways of the Lord
are just ; the righteous walk there-
in.' Of the second, the verse
continues, ' The wicked stumble
therein.' (Hosea x. 14.)" This de-
monstrates that the intention governs
the deed, and that the same action
may either be conducive to promote
the perfection of purpose, or be en-
tirely worthless, according to the
motive and frame of mind by which
it is directed. And although he
whose intention is founded on know-
ledge, and who understands the
cause of the command which Ye
obeys, is superior to him whose in-
tention is to obey without know-
ing why or wherefore ; nevertheless
the latter can and does likewise at-
tain the perfection of purpose as-
signed to man. For, were this not
the case, the greater part of the hu-
man species would be excluded ; as
there are but few who attain the su-
perior knowledge which can pene-
trate into the profound reasons of
the divine commands. This view is
supported by the wise Solomon, who,
meditating on the purpose for which
man was created, after long delibera-
tion arrives at this conclusion, and
says, " I devoted my mind to know
wisdom," &c., (Eccles. i 17,) " I re-
solved to nourish my flesh in wine,"
&c., " until I see which is the good
to the sons of man, that they shall
do under the sun during the limited
number of their days of life." (Ec-
cles. ii. 3.) His aim was to pene-
trate into and discover the purpose
of man's existence, and whether his
perfection is constituted by riches,
or honour, or sensual enjoyments ;
and having, after full and mature
deliberation, decided that neither of
these three can be the end why man
was created, be concludes by saying,
"jThe end of the matter, every thing
2 M

266

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BABBIES*

duly heard, is : Fear God, observe his
commandments, for this is the whole
of man." (Eccles. xii. 13.) His
meaning is, that, having examined
every thing which can possibly be
advanced on the subject, the result
of all his investigations is, that the
perfection of purpose to man is nei-
ther riches, honours, nor sensual en-
joyments, nor yet wisdom ; because
these are not imparted to, or within
the reach of, the whole or the greater
part of the human race, which would
consequently be created in vain ; but
that it is the active performance of
the Divine commands governed
by the intention j>f fearing God,
CD1NM *?3 m ^, " for this is im-
parted to, and within reach of, the
whole human species."

Thus it is proved, that this is the
real and true perfection, preponder-
ating'over every other kind of mental,
moral, or corporeal perfection ; and
accordingly we find that the Deity,
through the organ of his Prophet,
reproves those who are proud of
imaginary perfections, and points out
to them wh ch are the true and real
ones. " Thus saith the Lord : Let
not the wise man boast of his wis-
dom, nor yet the valiant man of his
valour, nor the rich man of his
wealth ; but of this let him boast
who boasteth, of the understanding
and knowledge of me, that I the
Lord do mercy, and justice, and
righteousness on earth ; for in such
is my desire, saith the Lord." (Jer.
ix. 22-25.) He teaches us here,
that neither wisdom, wealth, nor
power constitutes the true perfec-
tion, or cause of boasting, to man ;
as these qualities will not enable him
to attain or accomplish the purpose
of his being ; but that this is true
perfection, or cause of boasting, to
man, to understand and know the
Lord, whose mercy, justice, and
righteousness govern the universe ;
and that imitating him in these his
attributes, is what he desires. Nor
must this be done with any latent
expectation of reward, but solely out
of pure obedience to his will ; for
such actions only are acceptable to
the Deity as are governed by these
intentions. It is not sufficient that
we are wise, although wisdom, ab-
stractedly, is a desirable quality ;

but we must be merciful, and im-
part our wisdom to others, that they
may become improved thereby.
Valour, the most useful for our pro-
tection, is not given to man for his
own defence alone, but that he may
shield the weak and succour the op-
pressed ; therefore the due exercise
of valour is called by the Prophet,
"justice." Riches are given to man
for the twofold purpose of supplying
his own wants, and of relieving the
wants of his poorer fellow-creatures.
This use of riches, holding a middle
rank between mercy and justice, is
called, "righteousness." And the
Piophet inculcates the following
great lesson : That, in doing either
mercy, or justice, or righteousness,
in the practical exercise of our wis-
dom, our valour, or our riches and
beneficence, we are to be governed
by the intention of serving God and
obeying his will, as this is the true
perfection of purpose to man. The
Deity beholds with favour such ac-
tions only as are influenced by the
intention of performing his will ; and
as no deed, unless governed by such
intention, can promote the true per-
fection of man, so likewise know-
ledge without practice is utterly in-
sufficient; but practice and inten-
tion must combine to accomplish
that object. And accordingly, when
the Prophet denounced Jehoiakim,
the son of Josias, king of Judah,
and said, "Did not thy father eat
and drink, do justice and righteous-
ness, and then it was well with him ?
He judged the judgment of the poor
and distressed, and it was well : Is
not this the knowledge of me, saith
the Lord?" (Jer. xxii. 15, 16;) he
taught us, that every deed perform-
ed must be with the intention of
obeying the Divine will ; that true
perfection consists in the knowledge
of God combined with the practice
of virtue, which together forms the
true knowledge of the Deity . And
therefore the Prophet said, The prac-
tice of justice and righteousness, with
the motive of obeying the Deity,

>DN ninn N^n M^n, "is not this

the" (true) "knowledge of me?
saith the Lord ; " by which know-
ledge man reaches the perfection of
his purpose, the immortal felicity of
his soul in the world to come.

(To be continued. )

267
IV. CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

THE TALMUD. NO. III.

(Concluded from page 235 J

THE Rabbles, convinced of the
truth and importance of their doc-
trines, made the study of the law, on
which these doctrines are founded,
their principal occupation, to which
they devoted their lives. Their ex-
ample they held forth to the imita-
tion of others, to whom they recom-
mended the study and observance of
the law, as alone worthy of atten-
tion, and to which all that time
not unavoidably occupied by those
avocations that gave them their
. daily bread ought to be devoted ;
as that study was the end and
aim of all wisdom, and most useful
to man, we find that they say, " The
Holy One (blessed be HE !) reserves
nothing to himself on the whole
terrestrial globe, but the spot on
which the halachah is studied."
Reader ! this saying, superficially
considered, will doubtless appear
very strange to thee ; as will the as-
sertion, that all other knowledge or
wisdom is vain. " In the days of
Shem and Eber, when no halachoth
were yet studied, had the Deity no
portion in the globe ? " is a question
that naturally presents itself to thy
mind. But if thou wilt seriously re-
flect on this saying, thou wilt as-
suredly find thyself enriched with
the useful and salutary lesson which
it inculcates. I will endeavour to
explain to thee the true meaning of
this wise saying of the Rabbies ; and,
in order thereby to afford thee a
faint image of their manifold allego-
rical saying, which thou wilt meet
with and must endeavour to under-
stand, mark me, therefore, atten-
tively.

Know that the ancient sages, after
meditating on subjects of the most
important nature, decided that every
being is created with a purpose pe-
culiar to itself, and that nothing ex-
ists in vain. Being convinced of the
justice of this decision in its general
application, their next endeavour
was to classify the different crea-
tures, so as to make to each the
special application of their general
rule, and thereby to discover the pe-
culiar purpose of every species in

2

particular. They discovered, that
of all those objects which were
invented by man, the purpose
was generally known, and required
no special investigation ; as every
artificer who manufactures an instru-
ment has doubtless present to his
own ideas the purpose for which he
intends it. Thus the hatchet was
made by a smith, who, at the time
of making it, destined it in his own
mind to the useful purpose of cutting
wood ; and when we cast our eyes
on that tool, we know the purpose
for which it is intended. When we
see a needle, we know it is used for
sewing, a spade is used for digging,
&c. This is the case with every ob-
ject produced by human skill. But
of those objects produced by the
Deity and his skill in the works of
nature, — as minerals, metals, tree?,
and vegetation generally, animals,
according to their various and re-
spective kinds, — of these there are
some the purpose of which is entirely
unknown to us, except indeed it be-
comes revealed by means of inspira-
tion ; as the ordinary methods of
human research and reason are in-
sufficient to penetrate the object of
their existence. No human inquiries
will ever discover the reason why na_
ture has gifted some kinds of insects
with wings, while others have none ;
or why some reptiles have many feet,
whilst others have few, and some
none at all, and what is the purpose
for which such reptiles or insects are
created. It is only of some of the
larger creatures, with whose opera-
tions and habits we are better ac-
quainted, and which natural philoso-
phers, from their studies and re-
searches, are more conversant with
than others who have not directed
their attention to such subjects, or
who are generally ignorant. There-
fore when the Holy One, according
to his promise, endued Solomon
with wisdom, he became able to
penetrate into those secrets of na-
ture which are inaccessible to the
ordinary researches of human sci-
ence, and he treated of the purposes
of all the various creatures, as it is
M 2

268

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF RABBINICAL WRITERS.

declared in Holy Writ ; " And he
spoke of trees, from the cedar which
grows on Lebanon, unto the hyssop
which buds on the wall. And he
also spoke of beasts, of birds, of rep-
tiles, and of fishes." (1 Kings iv. 33.)
This universal acquaintance with the
works of nature was a proof, that
the Divine Spirit rested on him ;
and, therefore, individuals came
from amidst all nations to hear his
wisdom. As to ourselves, we know
that every sublunary creature exists
for the purpose of being useful to
man. Of the different kinds of
beasts some serve for his nourish-
ment, as sheep, oxen, and the like ;
some for labour, others to carry bur-
thens, and to aid him in his travels.
Some of them, however, man has not
yet known how to tame and render
useful, though doubtless they too
are intended to be subservient to his
wants in some respect. The vegeta-
ble kingdom, likewise, furnishes
nourishment, medicines, dyes, &c ;
and if many plants are as yet not ren-
dered useful to man, the fault is not
theirs, but that of man alone, who
has not discovered their utility. For
there is no object in nature, from
the largest to the smallest, which is
without its useful purpose; but all
can be made available to the wants
of man : And this fact is proved by
the circumstance, that no generation
passes away without some salutary
and useful objects being discovered,
the beneficial qualities of which were
unknown to preceding generations.
And from what we already know we
may, without fear of being mistaken,
conclude and assert, that every ob-
ject in nature has its own peculiar
utility. Shouldst thou be tempted
to dispute this assertion, and ground
thy argument on the fact^that many
of the products of nature are poison-
ous, and consequently pernicious,
instead of useful to man ; I answer
thee, that even these have their utili-
ty : For though, when adminis-
tered inwardly, they kill, yet, when
applied externally, they heal many
diseases. Even the most venomous
snakes and serpents have a useful
purpose.'

Their researches having thus led
our Sages to the just conclusion,
that the purpose of the whole sub-

lunary creation is to . be useful and
subservient to man, the next subject
of their inquiries was naturally,
"Why is man created ? and what is
the purpose of his existence ?" The
investigation which they undertook
in order to solve_, this question
taught them, that, whilst other
creatures can only operate in one
way, or, at most, in two ways, man
is capable of manifold operations.
We see that the operation of trees is
to bear fruit ; that of the silkworm
is to spin ; that of the spider, to
weave cobwebs ; of the lion, to prey
uppn other animals, &c. But man
performs manifold and various actions
and operations. The Sages made it
their object to discover what is the
result and purpose of all those ope-
rations which, in consequence of the
different 'faculties with which he is
endowed, he is capable of perform-
ing ; and they found that all his
faculties, and whatever effects they
produce, have but one tendency,
namely, his preservation ; which
again promotes his knowledge ; this
enables him to attain truth ; as rea-
son, properly exercised, will arrive
at the just conclusion, that man can-
not be, and, therefore, is not created,
solely that he may eat, drink, in-
dulge in sensual enjoyments, build
large houses, or govern his fellow-
men as their King. For all these
are accidental occurrences, which do
not add to the internal powers of
man. Moreover, these accidents are
common to him with other animals ;
and it is wisdom only which raises
him above them, by developing the
germ of his powers, and exalting
the animal man into an intellectual
being ; for without this develope-
ment, he is not actually distin-
guished from the brute creation,
though capable of becoming so.
Truth, then, is the object of knowr
ledge, attained by preservation,
which is the aim of the various ope-
rations performed by jman. The
most important truth and valuable
knowledge is the unity of God and
his attributes, with whatever there-
unto appertaineth ; all other know-
ledge is but secondary, and serves
only to prepare and practise the
mind, so that it may become capable
of receiving this great truth. Fur-

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF BABBINICAT WRITERS.

269

thermore, it is needful that man
should avoid sensuality : For reason
dictates, that corporeal indulgence,
carried to excess, injures the soul,
in the same manner as mental con-
templation, carried to excess, be-
comes aberration, and injures the
mortal frame. For if man indulges
his passions, and renders bis reason
subservient to their gratification, he
reduces himself to a level with the
brutes, which know not otherwise
than to gratify all appetites. Every
trace of that Divine faculty, wisdom,
is lost in him ; and he stands as an
isolated being, hurled iuto the
unfathomable depths of purposeless
chaos .

From all that has hitherto been
said it is apparent, that the whole
sublunary creation has no other real
purpose than to administer to the
wants of wise and virtuous men ;
or, in other words, to men who ac-
knowledge the truth, which they
attain as far as it is possible for
human faculties to do, and who
regulate their conduct and actions
according to its dictates. This fact
is established not only by the Pro-
phets who, divinely inspired, taught
our people, but likewise by the
Sages of other nations, who, though
the light of prophecy shone not forth
to them, yet knew and. felt, that
man can only become perfect when
he combines true knowledge with
virtuous actions : As the celebrated
and sage Philosopher of old said,
" What God desires of mentis, that
they be wise and pious." The
Prophet denounces those who boast
of their wisdom, and yet indulge
in their passions, transgressing the
Divine command : "How can ye
say, \Ve are wise ? Behold, they
despise the commands of the Lord :
What can their wisdom be ? " (Jere-
miah viii. 8, 90 He who abstains
from indulging his passions, who is
virtuous and just, but who is igno-
rant of true knowledge, is, certainly,
preferable to him who is wise and
wicked. Nevertheless, he is far
from being perfect ; nor can his
actions all result from the only just
motive. And therefore our Rabbies
say, in Pirke Aboth, (second chapter,)
' The ignorant eschews not sin, and
the worldly man cannot be pious."

This their saying is dictated by rea-
son, and approved by experience ;
accordingly the law enjoins to " learn
and to perform." The first direction
is to learn wisdom, by which .man
will know how to perform his duties ;
agreeably to the maxim of our Rab-
bies, " Most important is the study
of wisdom, because it leads to acting
virtuously." (Talmud, treatise Kedu-
shin, fol. 8.)

The question which presents itself
to our mind is, " As the whole sublu-
nary creation has no other real pur-
pose than to administer to the wise
and virtuous man, for what purpose
is the great mass of mankind called
into existence ? For we are certain,
that, for one man who is truly wise
and virtuous, there are thousands
who are not, but who, immersed in
ignorance and sensuality, have no idea
whatsoever of truth." The answer is,
There are two reasons why this great
mass exists : 1. That they too may be
useful to the wise and pious ; for if
the whole human race, despising all
worldly occupations, were to devote
itself to philosophy and contempla-
tion, social order must soon cease.
Man's wants are manifold ; his ne-
cessary occupations are numerous ;
he must sow, ^plough, .reap, thrash,
winnow, grind, and bake, before he
can eat bread : He must shear the
sheep, wash the wool, spin, weave,
cut out, and sew, before he can have
a garment. How many are the arts he
must acquire and practise, before he
can produce the vessel .in which he
cooks his food, or the knife with
which he carves it ! Methuselah's
years would not suffice, were it indis-
pensable that all men should learn
how to exercise every art that is need-
ful to^their preservation and comfort :
Therefore, men unite in a social state,
where every one contributes his ac-
tive share ; in which the wise and
pious man exercises his wisdom and
piety. How just is the observation
of him who said, " If there are no
fool--, society cannot exist in its pre-
sent state ! " Need we greater proofs
of folly than are evinced in the usual
doings of man ? He whose frame is
so feeble, and whose constitution is
so weak, undertakes journeys from
the commencement of the second
clime to the end of the sixth. He

270

CRITICAL EXAMINATION' OF RABBINICAL WKITEKS.

traverses the ocean in perilous voy-
ages, exposed to wind and cold ; he
crosses the desert in its naked steril-
ity, exposed to sand and heat. The
venomous reptile and the ferocious
beast endanger his life. He braves
it all, because he may gain gold.
When he has succeeded, and gather-
ed heaps of coin, what is his next
undertaking ? He seeks skilful arti-
sans, in every land ; he lays founda-
tions dug deep into the bowels of
the earth, on which he raises his
stately mansion, large, lofty, solid,
and built for centuries to come. Yet
he (poor feeble mortal !) knows not
if the span of his days will be length-
ened until the proud structure is
completed. Can there be greater
folly or madness than this ? Such
are all the undertakings of man, —
vanity and folly when you investi-
gate them ; yet they are necessary
to uphold the social state. All those
whose occupations are instrumental
to these necessary follies are by our
Rabbies called fi^n QJ>, "people
of the earth," their callings being al-
together earthly.

Should the objection be started, that
we behold many an ignorant fool
who lives tranquilly and at peace,
without encountering risk or danger,
waited upon by many who serve him
and obey his bidding; and that among
these his attendants are many wiser
and better than himself; and that
thus wisdom and piety are subser-
vient to ignorance and folly ; — we
answer : This conclusion is errone-
ous. For although yonder fool in
his tranquillity apparently serves no
man, nevertheless, without his own
will or intention, he administers to
the wants of the wise and good. For
though himself inactive, yet he
causes a splendid palace to be built,
vineyards and costly plantations to
be reared, and other royal and
princely undertakings to be com-
menced and completed. And though
these magnificent structures may
not afford any immediate use to the
wise and pious man, yet one of its
lofty porticoes may shield him against
the rain, the vineyard may afford one

goblet of wine, and his plantations a
single apple, to refresh the weary
sage, to quench the thirst of a pious
man : As Job saith, " If he heaps up
silver like dust, and prepares his gar-
ments like the mould ; he prepares,
but the righteous wears them."
(Job xxvii. 16, 17.)

2. The Divine wisdom has or-
dained, that the number of the per-
fect shall be greatly exceeded by
those who seek not to attain perfec-
tion ; but who exist jn order to up-
hold the social state. But the why
can as little be called; in question by
man, as any other law of nature laid
down by the Creator. Nevertheless,
it is true, that the great mass serves
to uphold the institutions of society,
and to preserve that state of cultiva-
tion which prevents the earth from
degenerating into a wilderness. This
dispensation of providence we find
confirmed in Holy Writ, where the
Deity tells the Israelites that the in-
habitants of the country they are
about to conquer shall not be at
once destroyed, in order that the
land may not become desert, being
uninhabited : " I will not drive them
out before thee in one year, lest the
land should become uncultivated,
and the" wild beasts increase against
thee." (Exodus xxiii. 29.)

All that we have hitherto adduced
serves to establish the fact, that
whatever exists in this transitory
state is created to assist in the
production and preservation of
the wise and pious. But as our
wisdom, as well as our piety, is
founded on, and derived from, that
inexhaustible store of all wisdom,
knowledge, virtue, and piety, THE
LAW, which a beneficent God was
pleased to reveal unto us, and by
which these are symbolized, our Rab-
bies, condensing in few words the
meaning of the dissertation into
which we have just entered, express
this comprehensive truth in one brief
sentence : " The Holy One (blessed
be HE !) reserves nothing to himself
on the whole terrestrial globe but
the spot where the halachah is stu-
died."

ON THE STUDY OF THE HEBREW LANGVAGE.

271

To the Editor of the Hebrew Revien:

Mr DEAR SIR, — As philology and scriptural criticism form a promi-
nent feature in your much-admired Journal, I beg leave to hand you a
few fragments treating on Hebrew Synonymes, which, in the course of
my Hebrew reading. I have selected from the best authorities, both
ancient and modern, with prefatory remarks on the study of the sacred
language in general. Considering the importance of the subject. I
trust it will not be unacceptable to your numerous readers.

I am, dear Sir.

JVUson-street, Finsbtiry. Your humble servant,

20th January, 1835. M. J.

OX THE STUDY OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.

INTRODUCTION.

EVER since philosophy has made
any progress in society, the learned
in all ages have [applied themselves
to the cultivation of their several lan-
guages. Their researches were not
merely confined to the technical
mechanism of grammar, but extended
to the serious and profound study of
its genius, which they have taken care
to enliven, by fixing a true character
to each word. Philosophy required
such a standard ; for there is in
every word a complexity of ideas ;
which, if not properly denned, would
cause much misunderstanding in the
arts and sciences, and truth itself
would become a dangerous instrument
in the hands of an unskilful writer.
It is therefore of the greatest con-
sequence to know how to distinguish
the different ideas which may pos-
sibly be applied to the signification
of the same word, and to discern the
difference between the principal and
the accessory idea.

When several words of the same
kind represent the same objective
idea, varying only from one another
by different shades producing a di-
versity of ideas superadded to the
first, then that idea which is common
to all such words is called " the prin-
cipal idea," and those which are
superadded, "the accessory ones."

To elucidate this, we will exem-
plify it with the nouns ease, quiet,
rest, and repose.

The idea of a motionless state is
common to all these nouns, and
may be called " the principal idea."
But different shades distinguish
them, thus : Ease and quiet respect

actions on the body ; rest and repose
are actions of the body. We are easy
and quiet, when free from pain ; we
have rest and repose, when the body
is no longer in motion. The resem-
blance, therefore, wh.ch produces the
general idea, renders such words
synonymous ; but they cease to be so
when the accessory meaning is at-
tached to it : Which we may consider
as d.fferent shades of the same
colour ; for we cannot imagine that
words should be as uniform as two
drops of water from the same source:
they are always diversified by shades,
as before said.

It is true, that a number of words
enrich a language ; but it is not the
quantity, but the quality, which en-
hances its value. If words varied
only in their sound, and not in their
spirit, it would hardly be worth while
to harass the memory with them.

Having said thus much on the ne-
cessity of the study of synonymes in
profane languages, let us turn onr
minds to our own, the sacred tongue,
in which the Almighty was pleased
to reveal his boly truths to mankind ;
a language which, in simplicity, re-
sembles nature, and, in expressive-
ness, excels all the powers of art ;
the classical writings of which contain
the sacred records, that, maugre the
ravages of time, have been spared to
us, for the blessing of mankind ; and
which contain such noble efforts of
majestic imagery as never were
equalled, much less surpassed, by
any profane writer, all tending to ex-
tol the power, wisdom, and goodness
of the Eternal. Thus, even in a

272

REVIEW OE HEBREW LITERATURE.

classical point of view, the critical
study of that language of truth,
nDN n 5U7, is highly requisite

Dnvm D'osn •nrri n^bm bnra pnnb,

"to understand a proverb and the
interpretation, the words of the wise,
and their dark sayings." (Prov. i. 6.)
But it is much more so in a reli-
gious view, as many of our tD'-vi,
" laws," are founded upon words
which appear synonymous, and par-
ticularly where one word is used in
preference to another. Our Rabbins,
TlbSnn 'Dilr, have displayed in
the N1DJ much ingenuity in denning
the nice distinctions between the
nouns rp!T) fi and -|Un, between n^1J
and Tt:; na^n and nil on; and

between the verbs tfp and nDI, and
many others. Even in the middle
ages, the learned Kimchi, Abenezra,
Rashi, and "m inn have urged
the necessity of the study of syno-
nymes. Therefore, in applying our-
selves to trace the Hebrew words to
their primitive roots, whereby we
shall be able to discover the different
shades by which some words deviate
from the principal idea, we may
humbly hope to enter into the true
spirit of the word of God, and to the
observance of his holy laws.

I shall now proceed to notice some
synonymous Hebrew verbs, critically
defined by some of our valuable
modern authors.

(To be continued.)

REVIEW OF HEBREW LITERATURE.

THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON : A selection from Proverbs and Ecclesi-
astes, in Hebrew : With a corrected version on parallel lines,
l)ii M. Mocatta. London, Pelham Richardson. 1834. 12mo.
160.

PP

AMIDST the dense piles of new
publications under which the press
groans, — every one of which profess-
es to instruct, improve, and amuse
mankind, by the brilliancy and no-
velty of its ideas, — it is as new as it
is unexpected to meet with a writer,
who seeks not to pass off his own
thoughts, but who ascends to the
Fountain-head of all wisdom, selects
and arranges for our immediate use,
those salutary maxims which, though
we know where to find them, we
seldom seek ; and who, content with
being really useful, advances no
pretensions to novelty, and tries not
to startle us with glittering grandi-
loquence. Such is the character of
the little work before us : We, there-
fore, feel pleasure in claiming from
our readers attention to its merits.
And when it is recollected how few
elementary works are in the hands
of the Jewish youth of this country,
we feel that the best thanks of our
community are due to Mr. Mocatta,
for his judicious selection and excel-
lent arrangement, which, condensing
within a few pages those unerring
rules of conduct which the wisest of
men penned for our instruction,

gives to the youthful mind a guide
which, in the hour of adversity and
temptation, as in that of prosperity
and exultation, will prove " a tree
of life to all who hold fast thereon."
Mr. M. has, under fourteen differ-
ent heads, arranged a selection of
those apophthegms from the Books of
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, which are
most appropriate to the class under
which he ranges them. When we
say, that some of these heads are,
Filial Duty, Humanity, Integrity and
Truth, Prudence and Righteous-
ness;— that all are of equal impor-
tance ; — and that each contains the
most forcible and just maxims,
carefully selected from a collection
every maxim of which is forcible
and just ; — we think we are war-
ranted in asserting, that this little
book is one of the best of its kind
with which we are acquainted. It
is preceded by a preface evincing a
a very considerable acquaintance
with Biblical literature and criticism,
coupled with sentiments truly phi-
lanthropic and religious. We heartily
recommend it to every father of a
family, be he Jew or Gentile.

LONDON : — Printed by James Nichols, '16, Hox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE-

VOL. I.

TWEXTY-XIXTH DAY OF TEBATH, 5595.
FRIDAY, JAXUARY 30, 1835.

No. 18.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL
CAUSES.

(Continued from page 252 J

IF we look into the various works heavenly music, addressed
of the creation around us, or cast spirit
towards the heavenly

our eyes

expanse to contemplate the bodies
which constitute our planetary sys-
tem, we are struck with nothing
so much as the wonderful order
and harmony that pervades the
whole, — " all performing the will of
their Creator with reverential awe."

What man, viewing the regular re-
turn of the seasons — the alternation
of day and night — the constant re-
novation of the vegetable world — the
joyous frisking of the young lambs
— the awkward gambols of the new-
born heifer — the graceful attitudes
of the gamesome colt — and listening
tc the sweet caroling of the songsters
of the grove, can keep his heart
from bounding with joy and love, or
avoid being overcome by these over-
whelming evidences of the existence
of a kind and beneficent Providence ?
and, gazing in mute admiration on
the starry firmament, studded with
millions of shining worlds, how can
he refrain at length from exclaiming
with the royal Psalmist, " The hea-
vens declare the glory of God, and
the firmament sheweth the work of
his hands ! Day unto day uttereth
speech : and night unto night sheweth
knowledge. There is no speech or
language in which their voice is not
heard."

The order in which every thing
proceeds, and the magnificent spec-
tacle afforded by the heavenly bodies
is such, that the contemplative mind,
whilst viewing them on a fine starry
night, can scarcely persuade itself
that it does not listen to the music
of so much harmonv. But it is

to the

and. soul of man, and not to
his mortal sense of hearing.

One exception only appears in
this universal obedience to the will
and paternal authority of the bene-
ficent Author of these wonders — and
that is — man.

In order to perfect the harmony
of the creation, or, indeed, as far as
we can perceive, to make the other
harmonious arrangements answer
some competent purpose, it appears
necessary that man, likewise, should
perform his part in this sublime, this
heavenly concert. Placed at the
head of sublunary things, and en-
dowed with a living soul and rational
spirit, it has been the will of the
Deity to constitute him a free agent,
and to render the full accomplish-
ment of his beneficent purposes in
creating this world, dependent on
the voluntary and perfect obedience
of man to his will.

Had the first man been obedient,
how different might have been the
fate — how much more advanced in
true knowledge — and how few, com-
paratively, might have been the suf-
ferings of his descendants at this
day !

It is by thus contemplating His
beneficent intentions that we come
better to comprehend, and to trace
distinctly in the Holy Writings, that
system which it has pleased the
Most High to lay down for govern-
ing this world under its present im-
perfect moral state : We shall then
more clearly perceive the purpose for
which the posterity of Abraham have
been selected ; and understand how
thehighest reward for his implicit faith

2 N

2/4 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

and obedience should consist in the
fulfilment of the promise made him,
" That in his seed all the nations of
the earth should be blessed." This
explains why, in all their derelictions,
his descendants are still found expe-
riencing the special care and atten-
tion of the Deity. He had promised,
and His promises are faithfully kept,
that through them His beneficent
purposes towards the whole human
race should be worked out — " not
for their righteousness, but for his
own name's sake." Mankind were
to be taught that it was no necessary
part of the system for governing the
world that violence and injustice,
and many other evils like them,
should prevail in the earth. The re-
velation to his people goes to prove
in the strongest manner, that these
evils exist contrary to His will; and it
dwells upon nothing so much as the
reprobation of all wickedness, and
on insisting that they should be put
an end to, that mankind might re-
turn to that state of virtue and hap-
piness for which they were originally
intended. Such a state might occa-
sion those spiritual intelligences
which are supposed to be created a
degree above man, to contemplate
with complacency and joy our globe
filled with beings, who, instead of
disturbing the general harmony of
the creation, would all be found
joining in praises and thanksgivings
to the Sovereign of the universe.
Let us for a moment imagine our-
selves such a spiritual intelligence,
viewing from on high this earth,
whilst being impelled majestically
around the great orb of day, reple-
nished with a race of human beings,
radiating with every virtue — with one
voice praising, or at least with one
mind dwelling on, the infinite good-
ness of their Creator — glowing with
gratitude for the blessings showered
upon them, and joyfully endeavour-
ing to fulfil His will in every point.

The view we are taking of the
providence of God enables us to un
derstand why, under so many pro-
vocations given by them, he still
continues to watch over his people.
A far more extensively beneficent pur-
pose is proposed by it than their sole
preservation. Everything tells us,
that it has pleased the Almighty to

decree, that the saving of the whole
human race from their evil courses
and foolish imaginations, and the
bringing of them over to know him,
should be interwoven with the fate
of his people. We may now per-
ceive why, when the Israelites clam-
oured for an earthly king, the Deity
did not punish them ; they were re-
proved, but were promised, at the
same time, that, if they and the king
he would place over them would ad-
here strictly to his laws, they should
still experience his protection.

By the observance of those laws,
and the happy effects that would result
to them from it, they were to vindicate
the ways of God to the whole human
race ; to show them that it was no
want of beneficence, still less of
power, on his part, that their hap-
piness was far from being such as it
was assuredly his intention that it
should be, when he created man.
They were to be taught, that, being
endowed with freedom of action,
they could attain the perfection of
their nature only through their vo-
luntary obedience to his will. This
being the great object, the people
chosen by God to work out his pro-
vidence towards the rest of mankind
were to be chastised, but never en-
tirely obliterated from the earth ; or
the effects of all the wonders wrought,
as much to instruct mankind who it
was that had performed them, as for
the immediate benefit of the Israel-
ites, would have been, in a great
measure, lost; and so would the
promise made to their ancestors have
remained unfulfilled ; whilst, by pre-
serving, though chastising, them,
we see clearly how both ends might
be attained.

We are instructed that the Israel-
ites are preserved as the witnesses
of the Deity, and are to remain so
until the objects for which they were
selected shall be fully accomplished,
when, becoming perfectly obedient
to their Maker, they are at last to be
the instructors of mankind. For
this reason we see that the conduct
of the kings of Israel was always
strictly watched. They were re-
quired to cleave to the law them-
selves, and to cause the people to
act up to it fully, and thereby attain
to moral perfection. No king was

OF NATIONS AaiSISG THOM MORAL

275

considered worthy or fit to govern
God's people who failed in these
great requisites. Implicit obedience
to God's laws, and to his will, was,
therefore, imperatively called for ;
and Saul, the first king appointed by
the Deity over his people, being
found wanting in those qualities,
was condemned to have the king-
dom rent from him. This strict
ivatchf ulness over the kings was evi-
dently necessary, because the cha-
racter, the disposition, and qualities
of a sovereign are sure to influence
greatly the people over whom he
reigns. The path was traced which
the kings of Israel must keep. It
was not left'to them to make laws
for the people. Divine laws had al-
ready been promulgated upon every
point, and to meet every possible
case, such even as human laws could
never reach. The kings, then, had
only to administer faithfully those
laws, and to observe them them-
selves, in order that both prince and
people might attain to that perfec-
tion in piety an 1 virtue which they
were so well calculated to promote.
Under such wholesome restraints,
the authority of ihs king exceeded
in no great degree that of Joshua, or
any other of the Judges who bad
formerly administered the law to the
whole nation.

Saul appears to have been a brave,
but by no means a truly pious prince,
imbued with the proper spirit and
qualities for effecting the purposes
for which he had been raised to the
kingdom. Except on the occasion
of relieving Jabesh-Gilead, he seems
to have been actuated more by the
desire to establish his own glory, and
tc hand down the sovereignty to his
son, than with zeal for the service of
the God of Israel. His envy and
hatred of David ; his application to
a sorceress ; his attempt to officiate
as priest, contrary to the Divine
command ; and others of his acts,
exhibit him as no very fit instrument
for establishing the Israelites firmly
in the observance of the Divine
laws, and preparing them fur the
purpose for which they had been
selected from among all nations. It
was consequently announced to him,
that " the kingdom shoidd be taken
from him and his family, and given

2

to a better than he." Uavid was
that person. In bis reign the seve-
ral tribes were brought more com-
pletely into that close union which
was necessary to enable them to as-
sume an imposing attitude towards
the surrounding nations, and to ^re-
sent, with more effect to them and
to the world at large, the great ex-
ample to which we have been allud-
ing. He extended the possessions
of the Israelites to the Euphrates on
one side, and to the Mediterranean
on the other. They were now no
weak state formed of twelve tribes
or cantons, which, however united
under one common religion and laws,
allowed their individual interests to
interfere too often with the welfare
of the whole nation.

As the character and qualities of
a prince have great influence on a
people, we have no better means for
representing to ourselves the charac-
teristic traits of the Israelites in
David's time than by referring to
those incidents in his history which
let us into his character. He is a
prominent illustration of the effect
of that command which made it im-
perative on every Israelite to study
his law and the Sabred "Writing- We
have said, that such a study was emi-
nently calculated to inspire exalted
sentiments, and to cause every act
to be subjected to the test of the
Divine precepts of the law.

The actions and general conduct
of David afford ample proofs that
he had not been neglected in this
essential branch of the education of
a Hebrew youth

The energy of character, and acute
perception of the sublime and beau-
tiful, which -in him shoae forth m
their full strength and lustre, appear
to have characterized his nation at
all times — \vitr. limity and

force of language of all the prophets
— and. notwithstanding so many un-
toward circumstances, they form,,
even at this day, a very marked
feature- in the character of the Jew-
ish people, as every attentive ob-
server might perceive. The traits
in the character of David may there-
fore be considered a high-coloured
picture of those which, in his day,
distinguished his nation ; and under
such a prince, those traits would
N 2

276 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

certainly not be weakened, but rather
heightened, by his example and in-
fluence. Hence we may justly infer,
that the expression of countenance,
and bearing of the people exhibited
the natural effects of those combined
influences upon them.

" His Psalms excel no less in sub-
limity and tenderness of expression,
than in loftiness and purity of reli-
gious sentiment. In comparison
with them, the sacred poetry of all
other nations sinks into mediocrity."
" The songs, which cheered the so-
litude of the desert caves of En-gedi,
or resounded from the voice of his
own people, as they wound along
the glens of the hill-sides of Judea,
have been repeated for ages in al-
most every part of the habitable
world, in the remotest islands of the
ocean, among the forests of America
or sands of Africa. How many hu-
man hearts have been softened,
purified, exalted ! — of how many
wretched beings have they been the
secret consolation ! — on how many
communities have they drawn down
blessings of Divine Providence, by
bringing the affections into unison
with their deep devotional fervour !"
This justly-merited eulogium, ex-
tracted from Mr. Milman's excellent
"History of the Jews," speaks
volumes in corroboration of the
truth of our position, that the Jewish
nation have been appointed, by the
Deity, the instructers of mankind
on points most near to their happi-
ness in this and in a future state.
What could have given to the poetry
and sentiments of a prince of a peo-
ple, who have now no country of
their own ; no king ; and jwho, un-
til a very recent period, have been
subjected to contumely, oppression,
and indignities of every description,
such an influence over the whole
human race, except it had been so
ordained by the Divine will ? We
are then fully justified in calling
upon our brethren, scattered into all
parts of the earth, to learn to appre-
ciate their own position in the world ;
to know their own dignity ; not to
be the servile copiers of others, but
•• to set about, in an earnest manner, to
offer to mankind that example of
moral perfection for which we were
'"ainly selected by the Deity.

At an early period, David had
attained to great proficiency in mu-
sic, and its sister art, poetry. His
courage, when a mere boy, had led
him to encounter and to prevail over
two ferocious wild animals. On his
visit to the camp of the Israelites at
the time their army was defied by
the gigantic Philistine, it is evidently
no vain-glory that induces him to
offer to accept the challenge of the
Philistine. His elder brother ac-
cusing him of pride and presump-
tion in coming down to see the
battle, he replies, " What have I
now done ? Is there not a cause ? "
meaning, Can you or any Israelite
keep silent on such aa occasion :
Do you not hear the God of Israel
defied, and do you accuse me of
pride and presumption, who assert
the power of the living God against
this clod of earth ?

Let us imagine ourselves the
spectators of this memoraiile event.
The two combatants are in advance
of the adverse armies, in which an
awful silence reigns throughout.
The Philistine, at the first glance of
the stripling that is coine out to do
battle with him, cannot contain his
indignation at what he considers a
contemptuous act on the part of the
Israelites, in thus sending out against
him so insignificant an opponent.
He spits out his rage, intermingled
with oaths, to his gods ; we perceive
his countenance distorted with pas-
sion, whilst that of David, lighted
up with religious feelings, evinces a
calm reliance on the God of battles.
The ruddiness of his fair complexion
is just heightened, but not with the
flame of raging passion : His eyes,
uplifted, as if invoking the aid of
his God, not for his own preserva-
tion, but that he might prove the
humble instrument in his hands,
and in the presence of the assembled,
hostile armies, for vindicating his
power ; in showing that " the vic-
tory is not to the strong, nor the
race to the swift." The giant ap-
proaches ! David is by no means
backward or slow in going to meet
him. His steps betray neither fear
nor indecision. He runs quickly
towards, not his enemy, but the en-
emy of his God, and with a pebble
picked out of the brook, has taught

OF NATIONS .\11I31.VG FROM MORAL C

277

this mass of clay, in the presence of
the astonished multitudes, that, he
who mocks and defies the God of
the universe will be made to fall
beneath the most insignificant of his
creation.

The sublime spectacle just pre-
sented to the Israelites at once
gained the hero the hearts of the
nation, but Saul was not proof
against the feelings of envy which
assailed him in consequence of wit-
nessing the attachment of the peo-
ple to the young victor. He sought
eagerly to take the life of the bene-
factor of the nation. In the wan-
derings of David we have repeated
instances of the sincerity of his re-
ligious feelings and devotion to the
service of his God, in the only way
in which it is acceptable to Him.
He never once entertained the
thought of conspiring to dethrone
his king; so far was such an idea
,:is mind, that twice when the
life of Saul was in his hands he
firmly resists the urgent advice of
his followers to profit by the occa-
sion, to put an end at once to his
own .sufferings by killing the king.
So genuine were his feelings of ven-
eration for the anointed of the Lord,
that even on the occasion when in
the cave of En-gedi he had cut off
the skirts of Saul's robe, it is said
his heart smote him that he had to
that degree desecrated the sacred
person of his prince. His conduct
in the affair of Nabal shows how
little he was under the government
of his passions, even when there
appeared a justifiable motive for
giving way to them, and how he
endeavoured to regulate every one
of his actions according to the pre-
cepts of his law. When the wife of
Nabal intercedes for her husband, he
says, " Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel, which sent thee this day to
meet me ; and blessed be thy advice,
and blessed be thou, which hast kept
me this day from coming to shed
blood, and from avenging myself
with my own hand."

Very different was his conduct
from that of Coriolanus, Alcibiades,
and others mentioned in profane his-
tory, who, because their countrymen
had acted unjustly towards them,
forthwith repaired to their enemies

to do them all the injury they could :
David, on the contrary, still ground-
ing his actions and conduct on the
precepts of his law, when driven to
seek shelter among the Philistines,
avoids warring against God's peo-
ple, or imbruing his hands in the
blood of his own nation.

Being come to the throne and go-
verning all Israel, he bravely and
wisely extends their possessions to
the utmost boundaries assigned
them by the Deity ; and having now
formed a very considerable kingdom,
he proceeds to bring the national
worship into that order, and general
as well as devout practice best adapt-
ed to raise the people to the stand-
ard of moral perfection, which it
was his duty to lead them to attain.
They were now in the full enjoy-
ment of those blessings promised
as the reward of their obedience to
the Divine will, when the scene
darkens and David is found, like all
men, liable to fall.

The very faculty which occasioned
him to feel so strongly the effects of
the beautiful and sublime bt trays
him. by making him forget fur a mo-
ment, that it was sinful to dwell on
the charms of the wife of another
man. The poison having once entered
his soul, he appears to have failed in
his usual fortitude and strength of
purpose to drive it thence ; and the
hitherto pious and virtuous king is
guilty at once of two of the most
heinous crimes it is possible for man
to commit. Who shall attempt to
excuse or extenuate these acts, since
the miserable culprit himself stands
self- convicted, and confesses that he
has sinned ? On this occasion w^e are
reminded of the strict watch kept
over the conduct of the kings of Is-
rael. The crimes are no sooner con-
summated than Nathan appears be-
fore the king, and, in that heart-
rending apologue of the ewe-lamb,
exposes before him, in the strongest
light, the heinousness of his conduct.
The film appears, for the first time,
to have fallen from the eyes of the
monarch blinded by his guilty pas-
sion— he confesses he has sinned.
Instructed, as we are, by the sacred
historian, that this prompt acknow-
ledgment of his crime, and his con-
sequent repentance, had procured for

278

THE MISHXA.

him some mitigation of the punish-
ment from his offended God, to
which he was justly amenable, we
trust we may express our doubt
which most to admire on this occa-
sion : The noble bearing and daunt-
less courage[of the Prophet, whoYear-
lessly performs his duty, and charges
a prince to his face with the commis-
sion of two of the most horrid crimes ;
or, the immediate confession of his
guilt by the prince, who expresses
his repentance, submits humbly to
the punishment denounced as the
consequence, by the Prophet, on the
part of the Deity ; instead of avail-
ing himself of his power and author-
ity to crush at once the daring ad-
monitor. From this period we have
to contemplate the character of the
prince whilst suffering under the
punishment consequent upon his
crimes, which put his piety, his for-
titude, and resignation to the sever-
est trials. We find, throughout, that
bis mind was restored to that sound
state which was so conspicuous be-
fore his fatal crimes ; the law again
has resumed its full empire over his
heart : For we observe him, in con-

formity to its precepts, refusing to
wreak his vengeance on Shimei, who
took the opportunity of his distress
to insult him grossly. His fondness
for his children shows him to have
been naturally of a very tender dis-
position ; as evinced in his great
anxiety to save the life of Absalom
his rebel son, and his inconsolable
grief at his death.

We have, in the history of this
prince, a striking instance of the ab-
horrence in which bloodshed is held
by the Deity. David was considered
unfit to build a house to the God of
Mercy, precisely because he had shed
much blood ; though" much of that
blood had been shed in the fulfilment
of the command to drive ovit the re-
mainder of the seven nations, and to
establish fully the chosen people in
the land which had been assigned
them by their God. The wickedness
of men renders these punishments
necessary ; out the Deity, on every
occasion, declares that this is only
throtigh their own wickedness and
perverseness, and that he takes no
delight in the death of sinners.

A. A. L.

(To be continued.')

II. THE MISHNA.

i» HiDD, MeschetU Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

f32b P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

(Continued from page 263.)

JOSHUA tlie son of Perachiah, and Nithai the Arbelite, obtained the Law from them-
Joshua the son of Peraehiah said: "Constitute unto thyself a teacher; gain unto
thyself a friend ; and judge every man favourably." (1.5.)
COMMENTARY. Joshua the son of plicitly to his own knowledge, the

Perachiah, and Nithai (he Arbelite —
The preceding tanaim, or teachers,
taught mankind how to worship
God in love and devotion ; how to
persevere in the observance of the
law and its commandments ; and
which are the dictates of mercy,
and of that practical benevolence
which man owes to his fellow-men, as
we have already demonstrated. The
two tanaim whose maxims we are now
about to illustrate, address their in-
structions to those who have already
imbibed the doctrines of their pre-
decessors, and act accordingly. And
while they exhort/the zealous stu-
dent of the law not to trust too hn-

ardent worshipper not to depend on
his solitary devotion, and the pure
philanthropist not to rely on the
constancy of his benevolence, they
offer their salutary counsels to each
of these three, to fortify them in the
practice of the good, and to protect
them from stumbling, or falling into
error.

Constitute unto thyself a teacher —
This maxim, addressed to the zeal-
ous student of the law, does not
merely imply that he is bound to
adheie to the authorized traditions
of the Fathers, — for this is a maxim
of law not to be infringed; but it
counsels him on no occasion to per-

THE MISH.VA.

279

sist in his own opinion, and to con-
sider that opinion as the best because
it is his own. For all men are prone
to err ; no man is infallible ; then
flatter not thyself that thou alone
art exempt from the common frailty
of our nature. However high thy
rank among thy contemporaries,
however extensive thy knowledge
and varied thy attainments ; though
in thy time there liveth no one who,
according to public estimation, sur-
passes thy transcendent talents ; yet
" constitute unto thyself a teacher ;"
acknowledge the authority of other
great men, give due weight to their
opinions> in order that thou mayest
not be misled by thine own vanity.
And though thy pre-eminence is
generally acknowledged, yet do thou
of thy own accord constitute unto
thyself as teachers those whose
opinions are entitled to deference.

Gain unto thyself a friend — This
maxim is addressed to the ardent
worshipper, who is devoted to his
Maker in purity of love, and free
from every selfish admixture. Yet
even he is cautioned against har-
bouring too high an idea of his own
piety, and is advised to "gain a
friend ;" to regulate his actions and
conduct, so that he may succeed in
obtaining the friendship of a virtu-
ous man. To acquire such a friend-
ship does not depend upon himself
alone ; yet, by his actions, his vir-
tues, and his merits, he may gain on
the sympathies of another similarly
minded, until their hearts and minds,
responsive to each other, become, as
it were, blended into one ; till their
joys, their sorrows, their fears, and
their hopes are so intimately inter-
woven, that one fate is common to
both. The possession of such a
friend is the greatest gain that man
can acquire on earth. Jointly they
support each other in every good,
fortify each other against every evil,
resolve. Does he stumble ? the
hand of friendship is stretched forth
to uphold him. Does he err ? the
counsel of friendship admonishes
him ? Does he wax faint : the
voice of friendship cheers him.
"With his friend he communes ; to
him he lays open the inward work-
ings of his heart ; and while the
teacher whom he has co~?tituted

unto himself improves his under-
standing | on doctrinal points, his
friend purifies his mind from all
those hidden imperfections, those
minor faults, v/hich escape the eyes
of the many, but which cannot re-
main concealed from the scanning
glance of friendship. For though a
man may have thousands of asso-
ciates, and numerous well-wishers,
many who rejoice at his prosperity,
and many more who would actively
promote his weal, yet thrice happy
is he who has one friend who searches
his defects to his heart's core, and
with tender, yet unsparing, hand
cares his failings. Such a friend is
a treasure above all others ; and
therefore our teacher emphatically
tells us to " gain " that treasure.

And judge every man favourably —
This maxim, addressed to the pure
philanthropist, tells him, it is not
sufficient that he is actively benevo-
lent, makes his house an asylum for
the oppressed, and practises those
virtues inculcated by the various ta-
naim ; as the very high degree of
purity and righteousness which he
himself has attained, may tempt him
to look with a jaundiced eye on the
mass of human beings, to consider
them as unworthy of his own atten-
tion, and his time misspent in being
devoted to their wants ; so that out of
pure piety and benevolence, he may
gradually become misanthropical,
and despise that human race of which
he is a member, because he finds not
in them that freedom from sin, and
absence of evil passions, which he
himself is conscious of possessing.
Against this lamentable perversion
of his pure benevolence our in-
structer cautions him, and exhorts
him to judge favourably of all men,
to endeavour to discover and assign
the best motives for their actions ;
and, when he beholds them a prey
to their evil passions, to impute their
backslidings to error from which they
may recover, and not to innate vice
which is irremediable. He must
judge no man harshly. Should he,
in dealings between man and man,
or in the performance of their seve-
ral duties towards their Creator,
perceive any one commit a deed
which appears equivocal, he is not to
be forward in adopting a rigorous

280

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

conclusion ; but must, on the con-
trary, endeavour to interpret such
action and its motives leniently, as-
signing to the perpetrator as inno-
cent a purpose as circumstances will
admit of. Less evil will result
from his excusing or acquitting the
guilty, than from his condemning
the innocent. If he beholds an ac-
tion the results of which are decided-
ly bad, and incapable of extenuation,
it is his duty to scan the motives, in
order, if possible, to discover some
mitigating trait, some fact which
may evince that such action was not
the effect of premeditated depravity.
And though he may be unable to
apologize either for the action or its
motives, he is to make due allowance
for repentance and penitence ; as our
Rabbies of blessed memory say, " If
thou seest a pious sage committing
a sin at night, do not upbraid him

in thy own heart on the following
morning ; because he may have re-
pented and become penitent."
Should continued vice preclude all
supposition of penitence, and conse-
quent extenuation, so as to leave no
room whatever for apology or excuse,
yet do not accuse the natural dispo-
sition of the transgressor, but miti-
gate thy judgment by making allow-
ance for the circumstances that may
first have seduced, and then en-
tranced, him in his career of iniquity.
And, above all things, do not con-
demn the xvhole human race for the
faults or follies of individuals. They,
like thyself, are gifted with the power
of attaining purity and perfection ;
for, were that power not inherent in
them, it could not be possessed by
thee ; and if thou accusest them
generally, thou art thyself justly in-
cluded in the accusation.

(To be continued.)

-III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 266.)

THE angel of the Lord promises
to Joshua, the son of Jozadack the
High Priest, his continued dura-
tion in a future world, as a conse-
quence of his performing the Divine
commands with the intention of
serving God and obeying his will,
when he says, " Thus saith the Lord,
If thou wilt walk in my ways, and
wilt observe my behests, and thou
wilt likewise judge mine house, and
guard my courts, then will 1 give to
thee.tD'^bnn, progressions amongst
those that stand here." (Zach. iii. 7.)
These last words the Targum, or
translation of Jonathan ben Uzziel,
renders, " amongst these seraphim."
Here, then, the immortal duration
of his soul is promised, and that its
existence is to be progressive amongst
the angels which always stand in
the presence of the Most High ; as
a reward for judging the house of
God, and guarding his courts.

CHAPTER VI.

HUMAN actions, considered with
reference to the perfection of pur-
pose, are subject to one of three
alternatives. 1. Either all of them
contribute to that perfection. 2. Or

none of them do so. 3. Or some of
them do and others do not. With
respect to the first : It is impossible
that all man's actions should or
could contribute to the perfection of
his purpose : For wrong, violence,
and wickedness are detestable in the
eyes of all mankind ; debauchery,
sensuality, gluttony, are brutal ac-
tions, contemptible in the eyes of all
mankind ; and what is detestable or
contemptible cannot confer perfec-
tion. It is equally impossible that
no action can or does so contribute,
according to the second alternative.
For, as we have already 'demon-
strated, in order to enable the ge-
nerality or bulk of mankind to attain
the perfection of their purpose, cer-
tain actions within their power to
perform must contribute to it. From
this it results, that the third alter-
native must be in accordance with
the fact ; that, consequently, some
actions do contribute towards man's
perfection, while others do not con-
tribute to, and some even impede,
his attaining that object. It is,
however, a task of great difficulty to
determine the precise limits that se-
parate those actions which do, from

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES

2S1

those others which do not, tend to
promote that purpose ; it being im-
possible for us to decide, what is
salutary, or what is pernicious, to a
being with the essence of which we
are unacquainted. If we are igno-
rant of the constitution and habit of
body of a man, it is impossible for
us to prescribe that diet which is
most conducive to its due equilibri-
um, or to restore it should it have
become deranged. In order to be
able, in such a case, to do the best
for the patient, we commence by
studying, until we become perfectly
acquainted with, his constitutional
habits, in order to regulate our pre-
scriptions accordingly. In what
concerns the soul, our reason is not
able to penetrate into its essence, or
study its nature. All that we know
is, that it emanates from a pure in-
tellect, and is free from every corpo-
real admixture. Beyond this our
knowledge extends not; our reason
therefore cannot judge of what is
salutary or pernicious to that soul.
One of the sages, on a certain occa-
sion, said : " Know thy own soul,
and thou wilt likewise know thy
Creator : " By which he meant, as
it is impossible for man to penetrate
into the essence of his Creator, it is
equally impossible for him to analyze
the nature of his own soul. The ques-
tion then is, How is human reason to
determine what actions may be salu-
tary and conducive to the real wel-
fare of the soul ? For as man is by
his nature destined to perfection,
there ought, doubtless, to be im-
planted within him by nature the
means of discerning what can pro-
mote and what retard that great
purpose of his being. Were we to
assume that we are to be guided by
the general opinion of the great bulk
of mankind, we should be justified in
not imitating the pattern set us by
prophets and pious men ; because it
is a well-established fact, that the
great majority of mankind do not
follow those good examples. But
as man was created alone, there
must be within each individual of
the species the means of deciding
what are the praiseworthy actions
which promote his perfection, and
what are the blamable deeds which
impede him. We therefore say, that

2

as we find many actions, which all
mankind, with unanimous consent,
declare to be good ; (such as, to
avoid the wrong, to pursue the
right, &c., &c. ;) whilst, again,
many other actions are, by the una-
nimous consent of all mankind, de-
clared to be bad ; (as injustice, vio-
lence, &c.;) the opinion thus formed
by the general and unanimous con-
sent of all mankind, must assuredly
be true and just; and as, moreover,
we feel an inward joy and felicity in
performing any one of those actions
which all mankind unanimously de-
clare to be good, or an inward re-
pugnance and regret when commit-
ting any deed which all mankind
unanimously declare to be evil, we
may thence with certainty infer, that
the soul, being of divine origin, de-
lights in every action that is truly
good, as conformable to its nature ;
and grieves at every deed that is
truly bad, because it is contrary
thereto. This affords us a criterion
by which to determine what is good
and what is evil, according to the
inward feeling of joy or grief which
results from our actions. For even
the wicked who ardently thirsts for,
and longs to commit, evil, of whom
Solomon says, " The soul of the
wicked desires evil;" (Prov. xxi. 10;)
even he feels but that longing until
the evil deed is done to which he is
impelled by his unruly passions :
But when it is done, the stings of
remorse assail him ; glaring guilt
stares him in the face, and the hor-
rors of inward bitterness overwhelm
him. This criterion the prophet
Jeremiah (peace be with him !) offers
to Israel, on behalf of his God, that
they may thereby perceive their
actions to be evil, because they are
followed by remorse and bitterness
of soul : " Thy evil deeds punish
thee, and thy backslidings convict
thee. Know therefore and perceive,
that it is thy wrong and bitter aban-
donment of the Lord thy God, and
not my terrors, which are on thee,
saith the Lord God of Hosts." (Jer.
ii. 19.) His meaning is : The bitter
pangs of remorse which accompany
thy evil deeds must convict thee in
thy own mind of having done evil ;
although I do not hold foith the
terrors of judgment against thee.

282

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

On the contrary, the inward joy
which we feel at the performing of a
good action can convince us, that we
have done right. And therefore the
Sacred Singer saith, "1 have re-
flected on my ways, and caused my
feet to return to thy evidences."
(Psalm cxix. 60.) When I reflect
on my own ways to know what is
right and what is wrong, I turn my-
self to thy evidences, hecause in
obeying them I feel an inward joy :
As he has previously declared : "I
rejoice in the way of thy evidence,
more greatly than at all treasures."
(Ibid. 14.) This inward feeling thus
serves as a touchstone which unerr-
ingly tells us how to distinguish
good from evil deeds, the former of
which promote, while the latter im-
pede, the perfection of the soul.

CHAPTER VII.

THIS method of deciding which of
our actions is good or which is evil,
is, however, not sufficient in all
cases; for the different constitutions
of men must and do cause a great
diversity in their qualities and sen-
timents. He whom nature has
gifted with great heat of blood is
inclined to valour, and will rejoice
at every deed of daring ; whilst he
whose, constitutional habit is of an
opposite kind, (being inclined to
quiet,) will rejoice at tranquillity.
Accordingly it is extremely difficult
to let the decision of right and
wrong depend altogether on the in-
ward feelings of any man ;— swayed
as these feelings are by the temper-
ament of the individual ; — unless in-
deed man were by nature gifted with
such a perfect equilibrium in his
constitutional conformation that no
one particular effect should at all
preponderate, — which is next to an
impossibility. And were it possible
to find a man so perfectly consti-
tuted by nature, even that man
would experience the greatest diffi-
culty in balancing and discriminating
the bent and tendency of every
action in its various modifications,
so as to adjust the precise point
where an action ceases to be good
and v ice versa ; a discrimination as
impossible for the unaided reason of
man, as it is for him to fix the pre-

cise medium between black and
white. Yet man cannot dispense
with the exercise of so nice a dis-
cernment, when he is, by means of
his reason only, to fix on that pre-
cise central point between the two
extremes of too much and too little,
which marks the truly good. Thus
benevolence is the central point be-
tween avarice and profusion ; va-
lour, between reckless daring and
cowardice. But how is man, by his
unaided reason only, to know where
is the precise point at which he is
to stop, lest his virtue degenerate
into extremes, and become vice ?
We have already, in our fifth chapter
of this division, proved that actions
which are to promote man's perfec-
tion must be such as are acceptable
to the Deity. But how is man, by
means of his reason only, to decide
which of his actions are thus accept-
able ? If we are ignorant of the
qualities of a prince, of his laws, his
statutes, and his perfections, how
are we to determine which of our
actions may recommend us to his
favour, and which of them may ex-
pose us to his wrath ? The Deity,
in his essence, is altogether incom-
prehensible to our reason : It is
therefore impossible that reason only
should teach us which of the many
actions man can and does perform
are pleasing in the sight of the
Most High, and which are not. All
that human reason can possibly
teach us is the general rule, that
whatever is evil is displeasing to the
Deity : (as the prophet saith, " Thine
eyes are too pure to look upon evil,
and thou canst not bear to bfhold
wrong : " Hab. i. 13 :) And what-
ever is good pleaseth him. But
reason cannot instruct us in every
minute and particular action of
which each of these two general
classes is composed. Moreover, it
is natural for every reasonable agent
to reflect and consider the result of
his actions so as to make them cor-
respond with that purpose for which
he intends them, in order that his
labours may not be vain, and fall
short of their intent : but as human
reason is not capable of ascertaining
and deciding the minute actions of
man which promote the perfection of
his purpose, he needs the aid of su-

THE PREFACE Of MAIMOXIDES.

233

perior or heavenly wisdom to point
out to him that precise course, the
pursuing of which is acceptable to
the Deity, and secures the attaining
of that perfection of purpose for
which man is created. This superior

or heavenly wisdom is, by means of
the prophetic inspiration, imparted
to one man, in order that by his in-
strumentality mankind may become
instructed, and acquainted with those
things which please their Creator.

(To be continued.)

IV. THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDES

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE ptTT-

(Continued from page 256 J

ALL Israel have a portion in the world to come ; as it is written, " And your nation are
all righteous, for ever shall they inherit the land : the branch of my planting, the
work of my hands, that I may be glorified." (Isaiah Ix. 21.)

IT is also incorrect for a well-
informed man to ask, " If I attend
to the commandments enjoined on
me by my Maker, and avoid the evil
deeds which he has forbidden, what
will be my re\vard ? " For that is as
the child, who says, when he en-
quires, " If I read this, what will be
given to me for it ? " We then answer
him with some promise or encou-
ragement ; for we see the small-
ness of his comprehension, which
prevents him from understanding
the grand principle, and presents to
him an object foreign to and differ-
ent from the real intention. Thus
the extent of his understanding pre-
scribes the nature of our reply to
him : As Solomon says, " Answer
the fool according to his folly."
The sages have also remarked, that
no man should consider his serving
of God Almighty, by the observance
of the commandments, as a thing of
usual nature or consequence, or for
a worldly object, as was remarked by
that profound searcher of the truth
of all principles, Antigonus of Socho :
" Be not as servants who serve their
master for the sake of reward ; but
rather as those who serve him for his
own sake." He meant to say by
this, that man should seek the truth
for truth's sake ; which remark of
his is the cause of his being called
the " Server from Love." R. Elie-
zer remarks on the passage, " In his
commandments he had great desire : "
" This means, in the commandments
themselves, and not in the reward of
them." Our premises are, therefore,
shown by this to be plain and ex-
ceedingly clear, as well as by this
• " 2

passage in Siphri .- " Perhaps thou
wilt say, ' I will make the law the
object of my study, in order to ob-
tain riches, power, authority, and
future rewards in eternal life.' But
the Torah only says, ' Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God.' Thus all
which thou doest shall be only from
love."

So far is this principle defined and
shown to be the spirit of the Torah,
and the basis on which rest the no-
tions of our Rabbanim ; (peace be
with them !) and no man, after a
careful consideration, can think dif-
ferently, except indeed he be a per-
son void of sense, whose lightness of
thinking and whose confused ideas
may lead him to form conclusions
without foundation. The excellence
of our ancestor Abraham (of sacred
memory) was, that his piety had its
foundation in love ; and to this great
principle must we devote all our
vigilance and direct all our consider-
ation. Our sages knew, that the ex-
cessive difficulty of this principle
would prevent its being rightly un-
derstood by every body ; and that
even some who could understand it
would not consider it in its purity
and simplicity. For man does little
good without the prospect of advan-
tage, or the hope of being secured
from detriment ; without which
views that good would be, in his opi-
nion, as much a work of supereroga-
tion as the observance of the com-
mands of God without regard to re-
ward or punishment. This is, in-
deed, a thing most difficult ; for all
men do not pursue the truth so as to
become like our ancestor Abraham
o 2

284

THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDE3

of blessed memory, and therefore the
Rabbanim impressed on the multi-
tude to continue their practice of the
precepts, with a view to recompense,
and to avoid the neglect of them
from a fear of retribution : And by
strengthening their impressions, and
directing their attention to this point,
the contemplative amongst them be-
gan to reflect, and to discover the
proper and the true path in which we
should tread, and the method which
we should adopt with a child when
teaching him in the manner of the
simile which I have previously men-
tioned. They also" rebuked Antigo-
nus of Socho for thus explaining his
sentiments to the multitude ; for it
was in regard to him that they said,
"Wise men, beware of your words,"
&c. ; as is further explained in the
)TON '•pIQ. The multitude are not
at all injured by performing their du-
ties with these notions ; for, perhaps,
considering the imperfection of their
ideas, these impressions are beneficial
to them until experience in the ways
o.f the Turah induces that diligent
and careful examination which leads
them on to the knowledge of truth,
and to the desire of serving from a
principle of love. This again is what
our Rabbanim of blessed memory
have said, "At all events the law
should be diligently studied, even if
not in its proper sense : For, though
frequently taken in a perverted man-
ner, yet we ultimately attain thereby
its genuine signification."

It is necessary to touch, in this
place, on the various opinions which
have been formed of the sayings of
our Sages. (Blessed be their memory!)
There are three classes whose no-
tions are divided on this subject.

Those composing the first class,
the most numerous which I have
found, understand, as far as I have
been able to learn from their writ-
ings, and to collect from their con-
versations, the passages of the Sages
literally, without searching. into the
hidden meanings, and hold all the
impossibilities mentioned in them to
be practicable and even necessary
occurrences. Their defect consists
in not being able to comprehend the
wisdom conveyed ; and they are so
narrow in their opinions, by con-
fining themselves to their a\vn views,

that few of them have ever had the
discretion to consider, that the Rab-
bles have not intended the various
apparent incongruities, interspersed
throughout their pious and elegant
writings, to be taken in their literal
meanings.

Some of these passages appear, at
first sight, so extravagant and devoid
of reason, that even people of com-
mon capacities would question the
possibility of any reasonable person's
affording any credence to them.
Such at least would be the notions
arising from the general mode of
explaining these passages. Thus,
of the folly of this class, so destitute
of knowledge, we have much cause
to complain ; for whilst in their own
ideas they are exalting and honour-
ing the Rabbanim, they are actually
debasing them to the lowest degree
in the opinions of others ; and, truly
as God liveth, these notions do tend
to pervert the law, and obscure its
clearness, injuring the impressions
produced by God's Holy Word, by
perplexing those who direct their
attention to it. In regard to this,
God, in his law of perfection, said,
" They shall hearken unto my sta-
tutes, that it shall be said, Surely
this nation is a great and understand-
ing people." But this class so dis-
tort and misapply the words of the
Rabbanim, that, when the learned of
other nations hear of their opinions,
they say, " Surely this little people
is a silly and weak-minded race."
But the principal mischief of these
propounders, is their endeavouring
to explain to the multitude that
which they do not themselves under-
stand. Would only that they would
relinquish an object which they
cannot reach, and be silent when
their speaking avails not ! As it is

said, fw-mn unnn jn> ^o,

" Would only that they would be
utterly silent !" Happy should I be,
if this remark would serve as a warn-
ing to them, and induce them to with-
hold explanations which they can-
not, from their inability of compre-
hension, rightly furnish. They have
not the modesty to admit that they
do not understand all ; and they per-
sist in impressing the results of their
own weak reasonings on the minds
of the multitude, as the sound doc-

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE CHELECK.

285

trines intended to be conveyed by
the allegories of the Rabbanim.
Thus they propound the figurative
reasonings of the division rcc*1:!, and
of the portion pbn, and other argu-
ments of the same nature and style,
according to their literal meanings,
word for word.

The second class are also numer-
ous, and take the words of the Rab-
banim in their literal significations,
thinking that nothing but the obvi-
ous meaning is conveyed by them-
These they endeavour to stultify and
ridicule, finding want of reason where
reason is most present, and disput-
ing the acquirements of men whose
knowledge is so much purtr and
clearer than their own. These peo-
ple even seek to demonstrate that the
Rabbanim (peace be with them !) are
totally deficient in wisdom, and
without any foundation in their prin-
ciples. Many of those who err and
stumble in these respects, are physi-
cians, astronomers, who, seeking to
investigate the nature of the hea-
venly bodies, overlook the defici-
encies of their own ; reasoners whose
vanity prompts them to inquire into
the causes of every thing; ar.d
would-be philosophers, who are far
removed from the knowledge of hu-
manity, compared with those who
are philosophers and searchers after
the truth. These are indeed inferior
to, and even more silly than, the first
class, many of them being very defi-
cient. They are, in fact, an ac-
cursed generation, for they influence
people of consideration and distinc-
tion, who, otherwise originally in-
clined to wisdom, would cultivate it
but for the bad example thus placed
before them. Would that these silly
persons would give themselves the
trouble to discriminate between the
arrangements to-be made in the
study of Divinity, by the Rabbanim,
and by the common mass of people,
to separate the actual and substan-
tial from the theoretical- and philo-
sophical; then they would easily see
whether our Rabbanim (blessed be
their memory !) were wise or foolish,
and would render much honour to
their reasonings and their writ-
ings.

The third class, who, I assure
you, are so few that it is hardly

proper to call them a class, — except-
ing in the same way that we attri-
bute a species to the sun, though he
is, in fact, an individual and sole of
his kind ; — these are the men who
possess a clear comprehension of the
wisdom of the Rabbanim ; and their
understanding is evidently good,
from what \?e see of their mode of
reasoning, reflecting intensely on the
workings of truth, at which they
will arrive by their clear ideas as to
the non-existence of things impossi-
ble, and the being of such as are ne-
cessitated to exist ; which reflections
lead them to conclude, that in the
words of the Rabbanim there are
both open and hidden significations,
and that whenever impossible things
are mentioned in them, it is in the way
of allegory and comparison. This is
the mode of most Sages : Thus he
who was the greatest of all the wise,
began his book by saying, " To un-
derstand a comparison and its inter-
pretation ; the words of the wise and
their dark sayings." It is known,
too, by those conversant in the lan-
guage, that allegories ar*e the means
employed in expressing hidden and
recondite matters ; as it is said,
rrrn rrr: .»*: rmn«, "I will pro-
pose a riddle to you." And as the
words of the Rabbanim have for
their subject such matters as are of
deep importance and of high mental
science, they abound in the use of
comparison and allegory ; extraor-
dinary topics requiring extraordinary
language. We see that the wisest
of them all did the same in his works
of divine inspiration ; I mean Solo -
mon in his Proverbs, Song of Songs*,
and some parts of his Ecclesiastes.
It is very difficult for us to offer an
explanation of many intricate points
which occur in these works, and to
separate them from their literal
meanings, so as to reconcile them
with truth, and with the fact of their
being Holy Writings. The Rabba-
nim themselves reason on many pas-
sages of the Scripture, supposing
them to be allegories, by separating
them from their literal meanings ; as
is to be observed in various passages
in the Book of Kings, some of which
many look upon as allegories : 'As
such some consider the Book of
Job, though none have explained for

286

ON HEBRRW SYNONYMES.

what end it was written ; also the
vision of the dead in Ezekiel, and
many other things of the like kind.
Now, my readers, if you belong to
either the one or the other of the two
first-named classes, seek not after
rny words, nor any others of the
same tendency ; for they will rather
offend than please you. It may be
sa.id, that a small quantity of light
and wholesome food cannot injure a
person accustomed to gross and
heavy nourishment, yet still it does
injure him, because he dislikes it :
The men who had lived on onions,
garlic, and fish, missed the flesh-
pots of Egypt even whilst they were
supported by the manna. But if
you are one of the third class ; and,

knowing the words of the Rabbanim,
derive advantage from them, or, not
knowing them thoroughly, still consi-
der them respectfully, from a distance,
you will perceive that many of them
are in the shape of allegories and
metaphors, which require great la-
bour of mind and exertion of under-
standing to compare and elucidate ;
and if you will endeavour by perse-
verance to obtain a correct under-
standing and conception of the right
path ; (as it is said psn 131 NlVob,
"to find words of delight;" and
J1DN 131 IttfV, " those words of de-
light are the words of truth ; " you
will then profit by this my book, and
it will be well with you here and
hereafter. E. N.

(To be continued.)

V. ON HEBREW SYNONYMES.

(Continued from page 272.)

ION and 131

THE verb »131 is translated " to
speak," and ION " to say." In Eng-
lish they are thus distinguished :
" To speak " signifies to articulate a
sound : " To say," to communicate
ideas. A child may begin to speak
as soon as it opens its lips ; but it
may be some time before it can say
something. This distinction applies
equally to these verbs in Hebrew ;
but it has a range rather more en-
larged. Ill is organic only, and our
Lexicographers define it DTlQty NtD3O,
" utterance of 'the lips/' or
"3iyn 1131 " externaLspeech ;'^ and
the derivative noun is 1131. """ But
ION denotes " to indicate," or " to
say a complete sentence." We
give the definition of man131O *h;
we do not say ION Tl. When
speaking of idols, the Psalmist says,
" They have mouths, 1131* «Vl but
they speak not." (Psalm cxv. 5.)
Here HOW N^ would be incorrect ; for
idols indicate or represent something,
although they can not speak. The verb
ION on the other hand is often ap-
plied to irrational animals. Job,
when speaking of the horse, says :
" Amongst the trumpets rmil ION*
- he says, Ha ! " (Job xxxix. 25.)

In Ruth it is said, " The women
gave it a name, ION!? indicating that
a child was born to Naomi." (Ruth
iv. 170 Many other passages might
be quoted, bearing the same dis-
tinction as that expressed in the
preceding definition.

There is, however, an exception to
this rule ; namely, when the noun
3b is added to the verbs ION or 131 ;
then they both signify " to meditate
or think." As, >3^i?N 131? ilbSN CDltO
" Before I had done speaking in my
heart." (Gen. xxiv.45.) 13^3 1UW ION"1!,
" Esau said in his heart." (Gen.
xxvii. 41.) &c.

And in a spiritual or prophetic
sense, the verb 131 is generally go-
verned by 3: As, "The Spirit of
the Lord 13 ^3*7 spake within me : "
(2 Sam. xxiii. 2 :) Also in Zechariah
vi. 4 : " I answered the angel '0 131H
who spake with me," &c. Many
other passages of Scripture will con-
firm the remarks which we have
made on these two verbs.

31JJ and ^3

THE verbs which come next under
consideration, are those of 31J> and
7^3, both rendered " to mix and
mingle." The common idea of both
is, to put two or more things together.

ON HEBREW SYXOXYMES.

28?

In Hebrew they are thus distin-
guished : n-" or rri'nn (in Hith-
pael) expresses " a commixture
which retains its distinction, after
having heen mixed together with
other things; " and may be rendered
in English, " to mingle." But ?72
denotes " a mixture where the dis-
tinction is entirely lost." Hence we
find it generally applied to the mix-
ture of liquids: As, JTtrn — 1
" mixed with oil." p"£ TIZS "mixed *
with wine," &c.

When the Lord confounded the
language at the Tower of Babel, it
is said, " For there 'n bbz the Lord
mixed (confounded) their language,
that they may not understand the
speech of one another." (Genesis
xi. 7, 9.)

And it is worthy of notice, that
when these verbs are used in a
moral sense the same distinction
will equally apply. When the
Psalmist speaks of the demoraliza-
tion of Israel, he uses the verb

niynrr: as 3^1; - inyrvi "They

mingled amongst the nations." (Psa.
cvi. 35.) It is thus correctly ren-
dered in the Biblical version in
English. For although the nation
was corrupted, they had not entirely
lost their national character. But
when the prophet Hosea was com-
plaining of the great depravity of
Israel he uses the verb V?2: — -

«in avsj?::

'•' Ephraim has mixed himself among
the people." (Hos. vii. 8.) The prophet
there describes the national character
of Israel as entirely lost: N";p f>N
^N cm " There is none among them
that calleth unto me." (Hosea vii. 7.)
The verb bb- is here properly used,
and very correctly rendered mixed, as
before observed.

nru ; bn:; :n; ;

THESE verbs are indiscriminately
translated in English, " to guide,
conduct, and lead," and are thus
distinguished : " To guide and con-
duct " convey a superior degree of
intelligence, which the verb " to
lead " does nut express. We conduct
and guide those who do not know
the road, we lead those who will
not or cannot go alone. We COH-

duct a process, we guide a traveller,
and lead a child. In a figurative
sense the understanding conducts,
rule guides, and the will leads.

In Hebrew these verbs are thus
classified : ; n : expresses the act of
leading the object, according to the
will and pleasure of the leader ; and
is therefore applied in a good or an
ill sense, favourable or injurious to
the object led. The derivative noun
is, in Rabbinical Hebrew, n ; ~ : -
" conduct or guidance." " Moses
in; led the flock behind the wil-
derness." (Exod. xiii. 1.) "He
who has mercy on them c;n:<> will
lead them." (Isai. xlix. 10.) In a
figurative sense we find, "And my
heart no^ni :m is led or guided
by wisdom." (Eccles. ii. 3.) Many
other passages might be pointed out
where this verb is thus applied ; and
we find it as often used as an injuri-
ous guidance : Laban said to Jacob,
Jinim " Thou didst lead my daugh-
ters like captives." (Gen. xxxi. 26.)
nna^a in;;-;:^ "He led them on

heavily." (Exod. xiv. 25.) Of king
Jehu it is said, ;;-!}' p";u.'2 '~
" He conducts himself furiously."
(2 Kings ix. 20.) Thus the verb ;n:
is generally used in Scripture.

But the verbs ^n: and nn: ex-
press a guidance, not only for pro-
tection from danger, which would
have occurred had the object not
been thus guided, but, in au enlarged
sense, conveys the idea of conferring
benefit and comfort. The noun of
7MJ is bmD "leader or conduc-
tor;" (Isai. li. 18;) and from nm
we may fairly derive the noun
nm:c, although clasb'^i under the
root ni: : "The Lord walked before
them nniriib to lead them on the
way." (Exod. xiii. 21.) And figura-
tively : " When thou walkest nn:n
TflN she (wisdom) will lead thee."
(Prov. vi. 22.) " In thy counsel
' : n : n lead or guide me." (Psalm
Ixxiii. 24 ) When the royal Psalmist
speaks of his confidence in the Al-
mighty's goodness he makes use of
both these verbs : ':rnr mm:? >a by,
" He leadeth me beside the
still waters," and pitf *b^"~l- ':nv
" He guidfth me in the path of righte-

288

IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE.

ousness." (Psalm xxiii 2, 3.) This several passages in Holy Writ where
hypothesis will likewise accord with these verbs are used. M. J.

(To be continued.)

VI. IMPORTANCE

OF A KNOWLEDGE
LANGUAGE.

OF THE HEBREW

IT was our purpose to have quoted, in our last number, the subjoined
just remarks in our brief Review of MB. MOCATTA'S Wisdom of
Solomon, &c.; || but we were prevented through want of room. They
occur in his preface to that excellent and useful publication.

THE Sacred Volume, exclusive of
its religious and moral influence,
possesses various and irresistible at-
tractions. Does it not transmit to
us the chronicles of the most remote
antiquity ? May we not therein trace
the source of universal history,
chronology, and the original code of
all laws for the regulation of civil-
ized society ? Independently of the
inexhaustible store of information it
contains, can we be indifferent to
the diversified beauties of composi-
tion that adorn its pages, and which
have been celebrated by innumera-
ble classic writers, in all ages and in
all countries ? Perhaps, in illustra-
tion, one or two brief quotations
may be allowed. A learned critic *
observes, that " the Scriptures abound
in beauties of style in prose • and
that they are the most ancient monu-
ments of poetry extant, replete with
all the various kinds of poetical com-
position, interspersed with imagery
highly expressive and natural, with
personification and metaphor, giving
boldness and sublimity."

In relation to the Pentateuch, ano-
ther English author of celebrity has
distinctly affirmed, that Moses, con-
sidered as a historian, an orator, and
poet, has never been surpassed

Such are the recorded opinions of
eminent Biblical scholars and lin-
guists ; and such must be the con-
viction of every intelligent Hebraist,
who alone can attain a just percep-
tion of the superlative beauties of
the Inspired Writings

The value of the Hebrew Scrip-
tures being thus clearly substan-
tiated, must not the divine, the philo-
sopher, and the poet, perceive ample
inducement, at a small cost of la-
* The Rev. Dr. Blair.

bour, to acquire the means of con-
sulting these treasures of knowledge
at their source, and no longer rely
on the defective medium of a trans-
lation, which, however good, can
never reach the emphatic energy,
comprehensiveness, and sublimity of
the original Hebrew text ? When
we call to mind the important truth,
that in this highly favoured lan-
guage the Supreme Being was pleas-
ed to reveal his will to mankind, we
shall no longer feel disposed to cen-
sure the bold, but somewhat harsh,
assertion made byDr.Anselm Bayly.
He affirms, that it is a shame, if not
a crime, for the Clergy to be unac-
quainted with the Hebrew language.
In granting thus much, how can any
person professing the Hebrew faith
attempt to palliate or justify his ig-
norance of a language that is peculi-
arly his own, and which has been not
unaptly denominated, " the un-
changeable inheritance of the sons
of Israel ? '' the language in which
the precepts of his religion were de-
livered and handed down, and in
which his orisons are offered to his
God, both in public and private. It
is but candid, however, to admit,
that there are many Hebrews in all
countries who are well versed in
their own tongue, and who are there-
by enabled to hold correspondence
with their co-religionists in every
quarter of the globe, in a dialect
perfectly intelligible to each other,
without the irksome task of appeal-
ing to an interpreter on either side.
Thus do they become possessed of
an extraordinary and highly valuable
privilege, which it must be ackno\v-
ledged no other language, either an-
cient or modern, can bestow.

|| Vide Hebrew Review, page 272.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46', Hoxton-Squarc.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE,

VOL. I.

SEVENTH DAY OF SHEBAT, 5595.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1835.

No. 19.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IX THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

(Continued from page 278 J

THE period at which we are ar-
rived in the history of the Israelites,
forms one of the most remarkable
and important epochs in that sys-
tem of the government of our world,
by a beneficent Deity, to which we
have frequently had occasion to al-
lude. Innumerable instances might
be adduced, from the Sacred Writ-
ings, to show that it was pregnant
with the fate of thousands of future
generations, whose destiny might
be said to tremble in the balance,
depending on the conduct of the
Jewish people whether the scale for
weal, or that for woe, should de-
sceuJ; whether the purpose for
which they had been selected should
now produce its fruits, and nations
be s-peedily brought, through their
instrumentality, to know Him who
"hai^created them, or be left, for ages
afterwards, to grope their way in
the darkness which had hitherto en-
veloped them.

God had, to this moment, led the
Israelites by the hand, — established
them fully in the land he had pro-
mised to their fathers, — had fed them
with divine food by his servants, —
and he whose character we have been
just delineating, had been inspired
to superadd to the Law, the most
sublime expositions of its precepts,
and of the attributes of the Deity.

The temple was now to be built,
not only to serve as the house of
prayer for the nation of Israelites,
but as the spot on which THE STAND-
ARD, to be held up to the whole human
race, was to be erected.

It is a most extraordinary fact,
proved incontestably both by sacred
and profane history, that, at this

very period, every nation on the face
of the globe, except the Israelites,
was plunged in the grossest igno-
rance of the true God, and in the
practice of abominable or absurd
rites of worship to false gods. How
clearly — how convincingly does this
circumstance enable us to trace in
the Sacred Wi kings the Deity's re-
solve, to prove to mankind that, with
all their boasted sense and reason,
they would be insufficient, without
his instruction, either to direct their
o.vn ways properly, or to penetrate
his pure nature, and discover his at-
tributes. The trial having been
made, and failing in the case of
every nation, (for all were now im-
mersed in the same darkness, if they
were not equally guilty of practising
inhuman and abominable rites,) we
see the Deity's prescient and bene-
volent care of his creatures shining
forth in its divine radiance, in timely
preparing his people to serve, at this
critical juncture, as his instruments
for bringing mankind to see their
errors, — to impart to the nations the
knowledge of the true God, — to be
to him "a kingdom of priests."

Whilst we glory at such a destiny
for our people, we cannot, without
shuddering, contemplate the awful
responsibility of the trust it implies,
and which, at Sinai, they voluntarily
undertook, when they there entered
into a covenant with the r God. Can
we wonder, then, that Solomon, on
coming to the thrcne, feeling the
important charge which had devolved
upon him, — to keep the chosen in-
struments of God's purposes towards
the whole human race in perfect
obedience to his will, — should inter-

290 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IX THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

cede for wisdom, and that, in a mea-
sure to enable him to perform his
important duty in a competent man-
ner ?' — The petition is not only ac-
corded him, but, that none of those
requisites should be wanting which,
through the imperfect state of man,
are necessary for procuring success
to endeavours which have for their
object even his own good, — honour
and riches are likewise promised
him.

The temple is finished, — its dedi-
cation,— one of the most sublime
and imposing spectacles ever pre-
sented to the eyes of man.

The sacred edifice, seen from an
immense distance, crowns the sum-
mit of Mount Moriah, — a spot
which, from its being the scene
of the searching trial of the faith
and obedience of Abraham, — was,
from thenceforward, selected by
the Deity for erecting a house of
prayer to him for all nations, — as the
sacred spot in which he would fix
his name, — and the place which, at
the end of time, whatever might be
its intermediate condition, from the
sins of its inhabitants, should again
shine forth in still greater splendour
than the scene we shall now endea-
vour to describe.

The preparations are completed
for installing the ark within the most
holy place. On this solemn and
impressive occasion, all the Levites,
to the number of thirty-eight thou-
sand, attended : "Around the great
brasen altar, which rose in the court
of the Priests, before the door of
the temple stood, — in front, the sacri-
ficers, — all around, the whole choir,
arrayed in white linen ; one hundred
and twenty of them were trumpeters,
the rest had cymbals, harps, and
psalteries." "The whole assembled
nation crowded the spacious courts
beyond." " At an appointed signal,
the removal of the ark commenced ;
and when placed between the ex-
tended wings of the cherubim, all the
trumpeters and singers burst forth
at once in praises and thanksgivings
to God."

The king then, rising, offers up
that appropriate, affecting, and sub-
lime prayer, which will stand for
ever a monument of J;he ^genuine

spirit of the Jewish religion. With
the pure piety and fervent devotion
which it breathes, — with the invoca-
tion for blessings on his people it
contains, are intermingled the most
benevolent prayers for the whole
human race.

The.following passage proves that
this prince had a due sense of the
purpose for which his nation had
been selected from all others by the
Deity. " Moreover, concerning a
stranger, that is not of thy people
Israel, but cometh out of a far coun-
try for thy name's sake, (for they
shall hear of thy great name, and of
thy strong hand, and of thy out-
stretched arm ;) when he shall come
and pray toward this house ; .hear
thou in heaven thy dwelling place,
and do according to all that the
stranger calleth to thee for ; that all
people of the earth may know thy
name, to fear thee, as do thy people
Israel; and that they may know
that this house which 1 have builded
is called by thy name." (1 Kings
via. 41-43.)

And in truth, what could more
strongly impress it on his mind than
the scene which now lay before his
own eyes, and those of the whole
assembled nation ?

How strongly must it have
brought to the recollection their
insignificantorigin, — the sufferings of
their fathers in Egypt, — in the wil-
derness,— and whilst driving out the
seven nations from the land of their
inheritance, — compared to their pre-
sent prosperous and happy state,
powerful condition, and noble atti-
tude in the presence of other na-
tions ! It must have spoken home
to their hearts, that not a single
thing had failed of all that had been
promised them by their God. He
had led them through every danger,
— had established them in the land
promised them, — had pointed out a
place, and caused a house to be
erected, in which his name should
dwell among them ; the fulfilment
of which He manifests in the most
unequivocal manner, by causing fire
to descend and consume the sacri-
fices, and by filling his house with
his resplendent glory immediately
after Solomon had offered up his
prayer.

OF NATION'S ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

291

Not a circumstance is omitted
that can possibly impress the whole
nation with the conviction that their
God had hitherto faithfully kept his
promises to them, and the past was
an earnest that the greatest of all
His promise?, " that all nations
should be blessed through them,"
would hereafter be as faithfully kept
and performed.

It is with great propriety that
commerce is considered one of the
most effectual means employed by
Providence for bringing the human
family together, and binding them
to each other in acts of mutual
kindnesses, through the advantages
to be derived to all by the inter-
change of the productions of their
respective countries, and the fruits
of their industry.

It is a circumstance well worthy of
notice, that this very means appears
not to have been overlooked by the
Deity, for enabling his people more
easily to promulgate a knowledge of
Him. We have only to look at the
geographical position of the coun-
try he had selected for them, to feel
satisfied that this is a reasonable
conclusion. It is the most central
spot on our globe, — extending to the
Euphrates on the east, — to the Medi-
terranean on the west, whilst its
northern boundary reached the foot
of Mount Lebanon, and the southern
touched on the Red Sea, it was
most advantageously situated for
communicating with all parts of the
world, and for constituting the Israel-
ites the fittest for promoting an in-
terchange of the commodities of all
nation?, to their mutual benefit.

It is difficult to persuade ourselves
that this was not the intention of
the Deity when he first decreed that
the posterity of Abraham should be
the instruments for working out
his beneficent purposes towards the
whole human race. For what better
means could have been devised than,
through pursuits which, to be suc-
cessfully prosecuted, require that a
state of profound peace should pre-
vail ; — that all engaged in them
should be imbued with kindly and
friendly feelings towards each other ;
— and that by the multifarious occa-
sions which would present themselves
the Israelites would be furnished with

abundant opportunities for present-
ing to their less instructed neigh-
bours the practical effects of their
excellent religion, by exhibiting to
them that example of strict honour
and integrity in their dealings which
their law commands them to observe?

By such a kind and justly
captivating course we perceive
how the nations might have been
led willingly to embrace the pure
faith and worship of the Israelites ;
for they could not have failed being
struck with its far greater wisdom,
and humane character, than their
own foolish and abominable practices.

We may infer, from that which did
occur, what might have been the
happy result of a continuance in
the course which had brought so
many blessings on the Hebrew na-
tion. During the forty years' reign
of Solomon, peace prevailed through-
out the land : " Judah and Israel
dwelt safely, every man under hia
vine and under his fig-tree, from
Dan even to Beersheba." And
the wealth, poured into the country
by means of the friendly intercourse
kept up with other nations, was such
as to cause the sacred historian, in
allusion to it, to say, that " silver
was in Jerusalem as stones, and
cedars as the sycamore trees that are
in the vale, for abundance."

The renown of the nation spread
far and wide. Foreign princes
sought their alliance and friendship,
and were anxious to learn the wis-
dom of the Hebrew Monarch, not out
of idle curiosity, but that they and
their people might profit by it. The
celebrated visit of the queen of
Sheba ended in herself and her whole
nation embracing the faith of the
Israelites. Modern travellers con-
firm, to the letter, the truth of
Scripture on this occasion, by the
discovery they have made of the de-
scendants of her people in Abyssinia,
who have preserved the record of
the event, and whose history fully
corroborates it. And it is scarcely to
be supposed that the effect of the
noble and virtuous example exhibit-
ed by the Hebrew people was limited
to this instance : It had, no doubt,
considerable influence likewise in
checking those abominable and in-
human practices which belonged to

2 P 2

20-2

ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE, &C.

the worship and customs of such
other nations as came within the
sphere of its salutary operation.
Nor can we, without denying the
effects of moral causes, imagine to
ourselves any other than a noble
deportment, and a countenance ex-
pressive of virtuous and pious habits
in'the whole nation, whilst their every
action and feeling were thus under
the wholesome discipline of their
law. Their merchants would have
been princes, and their learned men
the priests of the Most High. And
we have reason to believe that such
was the case, from" the expressions of
the queen of Sheba, who, after hav-
ing witnessed the happiness and
prosperity of the people, and listened
to the wisdom of their prince, could
not help exclaiming, " It was a true
report that I heard in mine own land
of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words,
until I came, and mine eyes had
seen it ; and behold, the half was
not told me : Thy wisdom and pros-
perity exceedeth the fame which I
heard. Happy are thy men, happy
are these thy servants which stand
continually before thee, and that
hear thy wisdom."

Now we have the authority of
Scripture, that Solomon was not
only eminently wise in the highest
of all wisdom, the knowledge of the
true religion, and all its important
advantages to mankind, but that he
was 1 kewise deeply conversant in
those other and inferior branches of
knowledge, the sciences, upon which
the moderns are apt to plume them-
selves as discoveries of a compara-
tively recent period.

It is hardly to be credited that,
having a prince addicted to such
pursuits, those about his court
should not have imbibed a taste for
them also ; if indeed the nation, un-
til then, had been totally uninformed
on such subjects, — which there are
sufficient grounds for considering
was not the case. Nor can we ima-
gine that those only who were about
the person of the prince were at-
tached to those studies ; we must
recollect that the whole nation were
exempt from all servile work, which
was allotted to the descendants of
the seven nations who were still

dwelling among the Israelites; afford-
ing the latter ample leisure for cul-
tivating their minds, and there are
abundant proofs to show that the
opportunity was not neglected ; for
such of their writings as have come
down to us, all evince a highly edu-
cated and cultivated understanding,
and they indicate a knowledge on
subjects upon which their superficial
readers ascribe to them a total igno-
rance. We may hence pronounce,
with confidence, that so many moral
causes, combining, must have im-
pressed their effects on the counte-
nance and bearing of the nation ge-
nerally, at the period upon which we
are treating.

But the bright era on which we
have fondly dwelt, lasted not long
enough to operate all the good
to mankind it was calculated to pro-
duce ; sufficient however was effected
to take from the Israelites all pre-
tence for thus addressing the
Deity : " See, notwithstanding all
the wonders thou hast performed ;
notwithstanding the strict fulfil-
ment of all thy promises, — and
that thou hast made us and our
king a wise and understanding, — a
powerful and wealthy, — a happy and
virtuous people, the nations still
remain insensible to all these great
and manifest proofs of thy power
and goodness ; — they are blind as
well as deaf. — To what purpose,
then, beyond our individual benefit,
have all these things been done ? "

This subterfuge for extenuating
their own derelictions from their
duty, on the ground that it affected
themselves only, and did not impli-
cate the happiness and salvation of
the rest of mankind, was denied
them ; for good had been effected
towards other nations whilst they
were obedient to their God, and
they were thus left under the awful
responsibility which they subse-
quently incurred, more extensive
good not having been performed.

Solomon infringes the law by mul-
tiplying his establishments of every
description beyond all reasonable
bounds. He forgets, or wilfully
overlooks, the end for which so much
prosperity and wisdom had been be-
stowed upon him and his people —
that they were to be subservient to

THE MISHNA.

293

the promoting of the great object of
bringing mankind over to the know-
ledge of the true God. He seems,
on the contrary, to have recently
adopted the idea, that the happiness
of his own people, theirs and his
wealth and grandeur, were the
ultimate objects proposed by the
Deity ; and that in the benefits
they had now experienced consisted
the whole reward for their obedience,
overlooking entirely that higher one
involved in the promise, that through
the seed of their ancestor Abraham
should all nations be'blessed. Had
he kept this in view, surely we should
not at this day have had such evi-
dence of his perfect weariness and

satiety of all the enjoyments of this
world, as his Ecclesiastes affords ;
he would then have perceived that
there existed motive enough for fur-
ther exertions, and that this life had
still objects sufficient to excite his
interest to the end of his days, had
they been prolonged to twice their
length.

The monarch, in his latter days,
led by his numerous foreign wives,
erects altars to their false gods, on one
of the hills opposite to that on which
he had built a temple to the true and
living God. His crime escapes
neither censure nor punishment, and
he sees troubles enough ere he closes
his eyes on this world. A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

II. THE MISHNA.

n2~!3, Mescketh Aboth : " THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

P17 P. COMMENTS BY .VAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

( Continued from page 280.)

Xithai the Arbelite said, " Withdraw thyself from a bad neighbour. Do not associate
with die wicked. Do not anticipate impunity;" or, " despair not when under pun-
ishment."

COMMENTARY. Nithai the Arbelite
said — We have already demonstrat-
ed, that those tanaim who together
succeeded to the offices of Nassi and
Ab-beth-din, pronounce their respec-
tive maxims in reference to each
other. The two whose sayings W&-
are now about to illustrate, likewise
observed that method.

Withdraw thyself from a bad neirjh-
bour— This, the first of the sayings
of Xithai, refers to the law. He
counsels us not to rely on our own
wisdom and virtue, but to avoid
temptation. Therefore we are not
to continue in intercourse with bad
neighbours ; by .vhich worJ. he does
not so much mean to express those
whose dwelling approximates to
ours, as those with whom we are in
the habits of intercourse and con-
nexion, and whose ideas or opinions
we feel ourselves led to adopt. And
in qualifying the neighbour whom
we are to avoid, he uses the word
" bad," — not only of him whose ac-
tions are manifestly evil, but like-
wise of him whose thoughts are cor-
rupt and impure. In this sense we
find the word i"i, " bad," used by

the Prophet: " Whose thoughts of
God are bad." (Nahum i. 11.) And
though thou mayest think within
thyself, " I can resist and overcome
his evil insinuations," yet do not ex-
pose thyself to the infection. Evil
deeds are more easily avoided than
evil thoughts ; do not, therefore, ex-
pose thyself to the contagion, lest
the insidious poison of scepticism be
imbibed by the mind, and thy better
part become a prey to doubts.

Do not associate with the wicked — •
The word " associate " is here used
in the conjugation Hithpael passive,
in order to express, that not only is
the wicked unfit to be thy associate,
but that thou must avoid all deal-
ings and transactions with persons of
bad character. Do not lay thyself
under obligations to them, lest gra-
titude induce thee to become sub-
servient to their evil purposes, or to
wink at their pernicious practices.
And if once thy better feelings are
so far lulled into security that thou
dost no longer carefully notice the
evil deeds of associates in their true
light, thou art very near following
their sinful example. Thus we find

294

THE MiSKXA.

in Holy Writ, Jehoshaphat king of
Judah was a righteous man ; but
when he associated with tl;e wicked
Ahaziah king of Israel, and they
jointly built ships at Ezion-Geber,
which they sent out to sea, the Pro-
phet denounced the undertaking,
and said to the king of Judah, " Be-
cause thou hast associated thyself
with Ahaziah, the Lord has rendered
futile thy undertakings." (2 Chron.
xx. 37.) And though it was an un-
doubted fact that Jehoshaphat, a
righteous man, did not entertain so
intimate a friendship for Ahaziah as
to approve of or imitate his wicked-
ness ; yet the man of God reproved
even a partial connexion with the
evil-doer, and pronounces the infeli-
citous issue of the joint enterprise
undertaken with him.

Do not anticipate impunity; or, "de-
spair not when under punishment." —
The word u;brnn,froin the root ww,
expresses, " to renounce or abandon
something, so as not to be found,
or not to come to pass." The mean-
ing of our tanai here is two-fold :
First, " Do not anticipate impunity;"
do not consider the punishment of
thy evil deeds as a something which

will not befall thee ; but, on the con-
trary, be assured that every offence
meets with its commensurate pun-
ishment ; which heartfelt penitence
alone can mitigate. But, wrong as
it is to suppose that no chastise-
ment awaits our transgression, it is
equally so to embrace the other ex-
treme ; and, when punishment has
visited us, to abandon ourselves to
despair, to look upon our state as
utterly hopeless, and ourselves as
irreclaimable. Neither the first nor
the second is a fit state of mind for
a virtuous man. For whilst the first
leads on to that reckless indifference
which the Psalmist denounces when
he says, " The fool saith in his
heart, There is no God ;" (Psalm
xiv. 1 ;) the latter, from yielding to
the enervating influence of fear, for-
gets the consoling admonitions of
Holy Writ, "Whom the Lord loveth
he chastiseth," (Prov. iii. 12,) and
" The righteous falleth seven times,
yet raises himself again." (Prov.
xxiv. 16.) Accordingly our Rabbies
said, " Even though the tranchant
edge of the sword rest on thy neck,
do not renounce thy hopes in the
divine mercy."

Shamaiah and Abtah'on obtained the traditions from Judah the son of Tabbai, and Simon
the son of Shilach. Shamaiah said, " Love rON^a occupation. Hate nun sway, or
dignity. And seek not to ingratiate thyself with nvjn, the ruling powers."

ence, art, or trade ; and our in-
structer here gives us the important
advice, that every man ought to ad-
dict himself to some useful profes-
sion or trade ; which, having once
embraced, he ought to love, as it
affords him the means of maintain-
ing himself independently of charita-
ble aid. And though a man's cir-
cumstances are such that he need
not absolutely devote himself to any
particular calling for his subsistence,
yet he is to " love occupation." He
is not to pass his time in entire idle-
ness, nor yet altogether to devote
himself to abstruse and philosophi-
cal contemplations ; for, as man, it
is his duty to devote himself to his
fellow-men, and to pursue those oc-
cupations which tend to promote
their welfare.

IIater\My~\> sway or dignity — This
word particularly applies to ecclesi-
astical sway or dignity. Our in-

Love n^WPOj occupation — How-
ever great thy mental accomplish-
ments, do not disdain useful occu-
pation ; but, on the contrary, seek
out and attach thyself to some bene-
ficial pursuit. The words fOK^n
and nil iy, are synonymous. The
latter word, mill?, is applicable to
every species of labour, though it
produce no lasting result ; and being
derived from the root "DJ?, slave, is
generally rendered " servile work."
But nDN^O is only applied to such
labours as produce a lasting result ;
in which sense we find it used at the
creation, when it is said, " God
rested from all in^j^D his works."
(Gen. ii. 2.) Accordingly the la-
bour prohibited on the Sabbath is
invariably called nDN^O; denoting
such occupations as are productive
of something lasting. Every TOt^n
requires the knowledge of some sci-

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RAP.BIES.

295

structer does not mean to inculcate,
that we are to avoid accepting ec-
clesiastical offices ; as these must he
filled, and their duties be performed,
if the welfare of the community is at
all to be preserved. His meaning is,
that we are not to be puffed up with
spiritual presumption, looking upon
ourselves as most worthy of being
guides and teachers of our brethren,
and therefore seeking to become
their clerical leaders. This is a
state of mind against which he cau-
tions us, and uses the emphatic word
" hate," to impress upon our minds
the necessity of subduing those vain
and aspiring notions which may
tempt us to look upon ourselves as
superior to all others.

Do not seek to ingratiate thyself
with the ruling powers — Having in-
culcated the maxim, that man is to
adopt some useful occupation, he
follows it up, by teaching us, that,

though we are to endeavour to excel
in the particular trade or profession
which we have embraced, yet our
objrot in so doing is not to be, that
we may thereby ingratiate ourselves
with the ruling powers. Let not thy
skill, thy learning, or superior at-
tainments tempt thee to become
ambitious. Do not consider the
talents with which Providence has
gifted thee as a means of currying
favour with the great. And if thy
rank and station iu society place thee
in their presence, do not seek, by
fawning, flattery, unmanly meanness,
or the display of superior ability, to
recommend thyself to their good
graces. Accordingly Solomon, him-
self a king, and deeply skilled in the
workings of the human heart, saith,
" Use no display before the king,
and seek not to hold the place or
office of the great." (Prov. xxv. 6.)
(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim :

ACCORDINGLY our
(Perek arbang Mithoth, fol. 56, page
2,) " As soon as man was created,
he was commanded to observe the
seven laws of the Noachidae." To
support this assertion they quote the
Divine command to Adam : " From
all the trees in the garden thou
mayest eat," &c. ; (Gen. ii. 16 ;) and
they argue also from the fact, that,
unless it were revealed to man, he
could not know which actions are
acceptable and which are reprehen-
sible before God ; that, conse-
quently, Cain was punished for the
murder of Abel, which was a deed
contrary to the revealed will of God.
The generation of the wicked at the
Deluge were punished for their vio-
lence and oppression, the men of
Sodom for their crimes, Pharaoh on
account of Sarah the wife of Abra-
ham ; because each of these deeds
was contrary to the will of God, as
made known and revealed to man
through the instrumentality of
Adam, and confirmed through that
of Xo;ih ; nor was the punishment
inflicted for any other reason. Such
is the opinion of our Rabbies ; which,

"BOOK OF PRINCIPLES: BY R. JOSEPH AI.BO.
(Continued from page 283.)

Rabbies said, however, leaves room for the ques-
tion, " Why did the Lord not turn to
Cain and to his offering : as, up to
the time of bringing his sacrifice, he
had uot contravened any one of
these seven laws of the Xoachidae ;
unless indeed it is assumed that his
intention in bringing his offering
was idolatrous : But this does not
at all appear obvious from the
phraseology of Holy Writ." To us
it appears more correct to assume,
that there are two kinds of actions
distinguishable by the natural reason
of man. The first are such as ab-
stain from violating those rules of
right which the preservation of man-
kind renders absolutely^ necessary.
These rules of right were trans-
gressed by Cain when he murdered
Abel, by the antediluvian generation
in the numerous acts of oppression
which they committed, by Pharaoh
and Abimeleck in the matter of
Sarah ; and for transgressing these
rules of right distinguished by na-
tural reason, they respectively were
punished. But thoxigh he who vio-
lates these rules of right becomes
liable to punishment, yet he who

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABB1ES.

296

observes them does not thereby
acquire any particular merit, or pro-
mote the perfection of his purpose.
They are merely negative virtues,
which he who dwells alone in a
desert will find no opportunity of
either practising or violating. The
second class or kind of actions also
distinguishable by means of natural
reason are those which contribute to
the perfection of the human soul :
Such are, to be humble and submis-
sive before the Creator, and to do
those things dictated by reason, in
conformity to the general rule that
good deeds are acceptable to the
Deity ; which rule is taught to man
by his inward feelings. Thus the
prophet, when reproving the Israel-
ites for their ignorance of the ways
of God and of his judgments, saith,
" I thought they are but the poorer
classes, they are ignorant of the ways
of the Lord, of the judgments of
their God." (Jer. v. 4.) And in
another place the same prophet
saith, " The stork under the heavens
knows its season, the turtle dove,
the crane, and the swallow observe
the time of their return ; but my
people know not the judgments of
the Lord." (Jer. viii. 7.) What
the prophet here says does not allude
to the ways of the law and its judg-
ments ; (for these are not intuitively
known to every man, as the stork
knows its season or the migratory
birds the time of their return, by
instinct ;) but he alludes to that
knowledge of the Lord and of his
ways, which is implanted in our
natural reason ; namely, that he
supports the world, is merciful, and
grants food to all his creatures, and
preserves their existence. This is
what the prophet calls " the ways of
the Lord ; " and when he mentions
"the judgments" of their God, he
means the knowledge of what in
justice is due to the Creator from
his creatures, who are indebted to
him for every thing ; they therefore
owe him unlimited gratitude, and are
with constant humility and submis-
sion to consider themselves as ser-
vants in the presence of their Lord,
to whom extreme veneration is due,
and whose dignity must not be at-
tainted in any way. All this is en-
joined by man's natural reason

without the aid of doctrinal instruc-
tion. This will explain to us why
the Lord did not turn to Cain and
to his offering ; because it was not
presented with that becoming motive
which natural reason inculcates.
For, according to its dictates, it be-
hoves us to harbour and. evince gra-
titude corresponding to the benefits
we have received ; and, conse-
quently, it is wrong to offer our
benefactor a present of an inferior
kind, when it is in our power to
place before him something more
valuable. Not that the relative va-
lue of a gift can render it more ac-
ceptable to that Benefactor to whom
we owe every thing ; but that it
evinces the degree of estimation in
which we hold him and his good-
ness. And when Cain offered of the
fruits which grew on the earth
nniNn n& instead of the nobler
fruits which grow upon trees, and
which he likewise had it in his
power to present, he evinced his
evil disposition, and violated the
dictates of his natural reason, which
taught him that his utmost gratitude
was due to his Great Benefactor.

Although the two general classes of
actions which we have above enume-
rated, are distinguishable by means
of man's natural reason, nevertheless
as that reason is insufficient to deter-
mine the minute actions of which
each class is composed, or to decide
what particular deeds are acceptable
to the Deity, it is needful that Di-
vine inspiration should be afforded,
in order by its aid to acquire a per-
fect knowledge of the true faith, and
of those respective actions which are,
pleasing in the sight of God ; as it
is not probable that the power of
providence should be less active in
imparting to man what is needful for
the acquisition of that perfection
which is exclusively peculiar to him,
than it has evinced itself to all other
animate beings, as we have already
fully demonstrated in the sixth
chapter of our first division.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE Divine inspiration, which, as
we have already demonstrated, is
indispensably necessary to teach
man that which is acceptable before

METAPHYSICS AXD PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

the Deity, cannot be obtained by
man according to his own will and
inclination, as it forms no necessary
part of his nature ; but it depends
entirely on the will of the Most
High. For that which is an ema-
nation from the purest intelligence
can only rest on corporeal matter,
according to the will of that Most
High Source from which it ema-
nates, but cannot in any way be
subject to the will or influence of
corporeal matter. Therefore, the
Heathens of the olden time held it
to be impossible that the Spirit of
the Deity should rest on any man,
or that such man should prophesy
by virtue of a power directly de-
rived from God ; but they thought
that by erecting statues to certain
constellations, and offering them in-
cense under peculiar ceremonies, the
spirit of such constellations might
be evoked, and called down, to en-
able the worshipper to predict future
events. This is called C3 Dp, "sor-
cery : " And as a desire to pry into
futurity, and to be acquainted with
the events which are to befal them,
18 common to all men, the ancients
attached themselves to sorcerers and
astrologers. Some of them applied
themselves to witchcraft, and the
service of various impure spirits ;
others worshipped the spirit of fire,
and made their sons and daughters
traverse the flames ; while not a few
paid their adoration to the spirit of
the air. But the sole purpose of
their various systems of worship was,
to evoke the influence of some one
or other of these spirits, in order
thereby to arrive at the knowledge
of future events. The same end was
pursued by those who passed their
nights in burial-grounds, or in fu-
neral vaults, offering incense to the
dead. One of their ceremonies was,
that a man and a woman stood on a
tomb ; the man at the head of the
corpse, the woman at the feet ; be-
tween them there is a small bell.
They both commence to exorcise the
corpse, ringing the bell at intervals.
The apparition is generally visible to
the woman only : She tells the man
what she sees ; and he puts ques-
tions and receives replies, which
make known to him such events
as are on the eve of occurring. The

a

formulas of invocation and exorcism
which they use, and the ceremonies
they perform, are minutely and cir-
cumstantially described in their
books on demonology. But all such
systems of divination, and attempts
to pry into futurity, are strictly pro-
hibited in the law, where it says,
"There shall not be found amongst
thee any one that maketh his son or
his daughter to pass through the
fire, or that useth divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter,
or a witch, or a charmer, or a con-
suiter with familiar spirits, or a
wizard, or a necromancer." (Deut.
xviii. 10, 11.) And the reason is
added, (verse 12,) " For whosoever
doeth this is detestable unto the
Lord thy God." He (blessed be
HE !) is holy and pure. His ser-
vants are sanctified, and free from
impurity : Whereas the rites which
we have enumerated, and which
Holy Writ condemns, are addressed
to impure and unholy beings. The
Sacred Scriptures proceed to tell us,
" These nations whom thou art to
conquer listen to observers of times,
and unto diviners;" (verse 14;)
for, according to their opinion and
belief, there is no Divine inspiration,
and that it is only by means of un-
holy rites that future events can be
made known to man : " But thou,"
says Holy Writ, addressing the Is-
raelites, " thou art not so appor-
tioned by the Lord thy God ; " to
thee it is given to know that the
Divine inspiration is afforded to
man ; and, accordingly, " a prophet,
from amongst thee, from thy bre-
thren, like unto me, will the Lord
thy God raise unto thee ; to him
shall ye hearken." (Verses 14, 15.)
Not, as these nations imagine, an
impure spirit evoked by constraint
will make known to thee what is to
happen ; but a prophet, inspired by
the Mo^t High, will acquaint thee
with what it behoves thee to know ;
and " to him shalt thou hearken."
Thus thou wilt be pure and perfect
before the Lord thy God, uncon-
taminated by the abomination of
witchcraft ; and not only wilt thou
learn those events which are to be-
tide thee, but likewise what actions
are acceptable to thy God : And
this last is the great purpose for

- METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

which Divine inspiration is imparted.
For the prediction of future events
is merely the test by which thy pro-
phets are to approve themselves as
the messengers of thy God, that they
may gain and command perfect cre-
dence. Accordingly we find, that
the principal object of the prophets
was, to exhort the nation to obey the
law and its commandments : For
the Divina inspiration was afforded
to these prophets, in order that they
might teach mankind how to attain
that perfection of their purpose
which results from doing that which
is acceptable to the Deity ; but not
merely to make known to man those
events which are hidden in the
womb of futurity.

Predictions rendered by exorcists are
the results of an ardent imagination,
heated and exalted by means of cer-
tain ceremonies and performances.
But such is not the case with the
prophets of the Lord, It is true,
that some of our sage philosophers
have attempted to prove that pro-
phecy was natural, and the effect of
an exalted imagination ; being either
a kind of dream, or mental vision,
to which man becomes disposed by
profound study and wisdom. But
experience and reason unite to refute
such an attempt : The first demon-
strates, that no prophecy has ever
been pronoimced by a philosopher,
however sage and learned ; but that
this gift was mostly limited to the
Israelites : Consequently this Divine
inspiration, or Spirit of prophecy,
must be supernatural ; as, other-
wise, it would not be confined to
this particular people, but would be
found spread amonst all the nations
of the earth. These proofs of ex-
perience are confirmed by reason ;
for those sorcerers, wizards, and
exorcists, who heat their imagina-
tions by means of rites and ceremo-
nies, do never propound that which
is acceptable to the Deity, as they
are \mder an impure influence.
Whereas the true prophets, being
supernaturally inspired by the pure
and holy emanation of God, can and
do teach man that which really and
truly promotes the perfection of his
purpose for which he was created.
The predictions which are pro-
nounced by soothsayers and astro-

logers are sometimes true, and
sometimes false ; which is owing to
two causes : 1. Because imagination
generally creates that which is not,
and mixes it up with that which is.
2. Because Divine Providence may
and does alter the course of events
according to his own counsels, which
no other power can penetrate. Thus
these prognosticators cannot avoid
predicting that which comes not to
pass. As the prophet says, " Let
now arise, and aid thee, the astro-
logers, the star-gazers, and monthly
prognosticators of what they (the
months) will produce unto thee."
(Isaiah xlvii. 13.) On the latter
part of this verse our Rabbies re-
marked : "Of what they produce,
not all that they produce ; " for,
owing to one or other of the two
causes we have stated above, it is
alike impossible that all they predict
should be true, as that they should
predict all that comes to pass. But
the prophet of the Lord, whose in-
spiration emanates from the Holy
One (blessed be HE !) cannot by any
possibility predict that which is un-
true : As Holy Writ testifies of Sa-
muel : "Of all his words none fell to
the ground ; and all Israel, from
Dan unto Beer-sheba, knew that
Samuel was accredited to be a pro-
phet unto the Lord." (1 Samuel
iii. 20.) The reality of his pro-
phetic mission and character was
approved by the fact, that all his
words, without any exception, be-
came verified, which never can be
the case with the predictions of
wizards, augurs, and the like.

To this difference Balaam alludes
when he says, " For there is no
witchcraft in Jacob, or sorcery in
Israel : in due time it is told to Ja-
cob, and to Israel what God hath
done." (Num. xxiii. 27.) Do not
think that the prosperity which is
promised to the Israelites may be
altered, like any other occurrence
resulting from the natural course of
events. Any such alteration is im-
possible : For their welfare does not
rest on the prognostication of wizard
or sorcerer, but on that of pure pro-
phecy, inspired by the Deity to fore-
tel his immutable resolves. From
all that we have here stated, it be-
comes evident that all attempts of

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

299

human reason to force itself into the
counsels of the Deity are vain, and
either the juggling tricks of an heat-
ed imagination, or the foul efflux of
impure spirits. This Divine inspira-
tion is a free and supernatural gift,
imparted by the 'Deity for the pur-
pose of making kno\vn to men that
which is acceptable to God, and pro-
motes the perfection of their purpose;
a knowledge which they could not
possibly attain without the aid of
Divine inspiration imparted to one
for the benefit of all. This Divine
inspiration is a pure emanation from
the Deity, and not the result of ima-
gination ; but operatingon the human
mind, either directly or by the inter-
mediate agency of angels, and ac-
quainting man with that which, in
the ordinary course of nat-ire, he
could not know . This is done either
for his own immediate guidance, or
for the instruction of others, with
the general purpose of leading man-
kind to felicity an'l perfection.
There are, however, various degrees
of prophecy. Some of the prophets
receive the inspiration, not directly,
but by means of internal visions,
working on their mind. Thus, they
see objects of terror in their visions,
which are more or less clear according
to their own mental and moral per-
fections. One prophet, for instance,
saw female apparitions in his vision :
" I lifted up my eyes and saw : and,
behold, two women went forth ; the
win;! agitated their wings, for they
had wings like those of a stork,"
&c. (Zechariah v. 9.) Other/orophets
saw angels in large and terrific
shapes: "His body was like a tur-
quoise, his face like the appearance
of lightning, his eyes like burning
links, his arms and feet like red hot
copper." (Dan. x. 6.) Other and
similar visions and apparitions are
related by the prophets, which were
internal and present to their mind's
.eye alone. Some of the prophets
did not attain a higher degree of in-
spiration ; whilst others, gradually
ascending in perfection, received the
divine communication directly and
without the intermediate aid of
visions. This most high degree of
prophecy, that of immediate and
constant communion with the Deity,
was attained by Moses our teacher

2

— peace be with him '. Flavin;?, in
the first instance, beco:ne inspired by
the vision of an angel in a flame of
fire, operating on his inward mind,
he subsequently became favoured
with the direct communication of
the Divine Spirit, free from all
visions or apparitions. And though
at the first an angel of the Lord ap-
peared to him, yet, subsequently,
the Holy One says of him, " Face to
face I speak to him, he beholds the
presence of the Deity clearly, not
darkly in visions." (Num. x
Thus the Divine inspiration was di-
rectly imparted to him, and there-
fore his predictions are clear, distinct,
and without any obscure or enigmatic
parts. This highest degree of pro-
phetic power was likewise imparted
to the whole Israelitish nation, when
they received the law at Mount
Sinai : As Holy Writ declares :
" Face to face the Lord spake unto
you on the mount out of the midst of
the fire." (Deut. v. 4.) As it pleas-
ed the Most High, when he gave the
law through Moses, to evince his
presence and will so clearly and dis-
tinctly, as to leave no room whatever
for the influence of imagination, of
the workings of doubt and suspicion ;
the highest degree of prophecy, —
direct communication with the De-
ity, which in the language of Holy
Writ 13 called " face to face," — was
on this momentous occasion bestowed
on them.

CHAPTER IX.

THE following question here pre-
sents itself: "As all prophecy ema-
nates from the same source, (the
Deity,) and is imparted for the same
purpose, (to teach mankind what is
acceptable to God,) how comes it
that the visions of different prophets,
though relating to the same subject,
are various ? one prophet behold-
ing the presence of the Holy One
under one appearance, and another
under a different appearance.'' In
reply to this question we state, that
the various visions of different pro-
phets, and their diversity of expres-
sions, do not disprove the fact that
all their prophecies emanated from
the same source, and were imparte'd
for the same purpose For the same
cause produces various effects,
Q a

300

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE UABB1ES.

according to the divers dispositions
of the subjects on which it operates.
The same fire which melts wax
hardens salt. In like manner the
soul, although, according to the
unanimous opinion of all philoso-
phers, one and indivisible in its es-
sence, does, nevertheless, evince va-
rious effects on different parts of the
body subjected to its operations. For
these effects on the brain, the liver,
and the heart are different and dis-
tinct ; yet all combine for the same
purpose, the preservation of the body.
In the various parts of the same
body we likewise behold different
operations ; all of which proves what
we before asserted, that one cause
can and does produce various effects,
through the diversity either of the
agents or of the places on which
such cause operates. Thus, like-
wise, the visions of the prophets are
different, either through the diver-
sity of the agents by means of whom
these visions are imparted, or owing
to the variety of disposition peculiar
to each prophet ; notwithstanding
that all these visions flow from the
same source and are intended for the
same purpose. Accordingly in the
Divine reproof addressed to Aaron
and Miriam it is said, " If there be
amongst you a prophet of the Lord,
I make myself known to him in
a vision, or speak to him in a dream.
Not thus my servant Moses, in all
my house he is faithful. Face to
face I speak to him, he beholds the
presence of the Deity clearly, not
darkly in visions." (Num. xii. 6-8.)
Here the Holy One expressly declares
that it is He who speaketh to the
prophet darkly and in visions, as he
speaks to Moses clearly and face to
face ; which completely and fully
proves our position, that although
the Divine inspiration, in all cases,
emanates from the same source, it
nevertheless varies its effects accord-
ing to the agency employed, or the
peculiar disposition of the prophet.
We must, therefore, not be surprised
when one prophet declares that, he saw
" the! Lord sitting on a high and ex-
alted throne ; " that another prophet
proclaims that he has seen " the
Lord like an aged man, in a garment
of snowy white ; the hair of his head
like spotless wool ; " whilst another

prophet asserts he has seen " the
Lord like unto a man of war ; " and
many other similar instances. In
like manner various prophets differ-
ently describe the agents, by means
of whom the vision was imparted to
them. One, as we have already
stated, relates of the angel he saw,
that his body was like unto a tur-
quoise, &c. To another he appears
like a man clothed in linen garments.
Whilst a third sees him in a carriage
drawn by bay, spotted, and white
horses. These diversities are either
owing to the dispoition of the pro-
phet, or the medium through which
the vision is imparted to him. Our
Rabbies have already long ago eluci-
dated this subject in Bereshit/t
Rabbah, chap, iv., where; they state,
" A certain Cuthi (Heathen) inquired
of R. Mier : ' Is it possible that He,
of whom it is said, 1 (ill the heavens
and the earth, should have spoken to
Moses from the midst of the ark of
covenant ? ' R. Mier replied, ' Bring
me a large mirror.' He did so, and
the Rabbi said to him, ' Look at thy
image reflected in this mirror. It
will appear large ; but bring me a
small mirror, and thy image reflected
therein appears small. If thou, made
of a material body, canst thus appear
large or small according to the me-
dium in which thou art reflected ;
how much more is it in the power of
Him, at whose bidding the universe
was created, to assume such size or
appearance as he may deem proper!"
It seems that this Cuthi intended
to assert, that all prophecy does
not emanate from God, but is
merely the effect of imagina-
tion, as was likewise maintained by
•those philosophers whose opinions
we have already quoted. And he
supports his assertion by instancing
the difference between the immensity
of the Godhead which fills all space,
and the narrow dimensions of the
ark from which God spoke to Moses.
The ; Rabbi, however, refutes his
opinion, by proving that diversity is
owing to the medium operated upon,
and not to the cause which operates ;
as different mirrors reflect any given
figure, large or small, clear or dark,
according to their own respective
size and quality, although the image
reflected still L remains the same.

TALMUDIC NARRATIVES.

301

Thus no variation or diversity exists
in the source of prophecy, but solely
in the means selected for its com-
munication. And as an image re-
flected in a mirror still continues in-
dependent of such reflection, so like-
wise the Most High, whom no hu-
man eye can hehold, is independent
of whatever appearance the Prophet
may behold in his vision ; for as the
reflection of the mirror is not the
object reflected, so likewise the vision
of the Prophet manifests but a re-
flection, nut the Divine Essence it-
self. But should the question be
put, " How can the vision be a mere
reflection, while the prediction it
conveys is true : " we reply, that if
a man dreams that a person commu-
nicates a certain information to him,
which he retains and finds correct
when awake, although the commu-
nicant was unreal, yet the commu-

nication was real ; so likewise, al-
though the vision which appears to
the Prophet is mental only, and has
no real and palpable existence, (a
fact of which he is perfectly aware,)
yet the information that it conveys
to him is real and true.

From all that we have hitherto
said, it becomes evident, that what-
ever diversity is apparent in the vari-
ous visions of different Prophets, it
nevertheless remains an indisputable
fact, that such diversity is not in the
source or purpose of the prophecy,
but solely in the means by which,
and in the disposition of those to
whom, it is imparted ; and accord-
ingly our Rabbles say, in the Tal-
mud, (treatise Sanhedrin, folio 89,)
"Though the same subject be im-
parted to many Prophets, yet no two
of them behold the same vision."
(To be continued.')

IV. TALMUDIC NARRATIVES.

TREATISE Tamid, FOLIO 37-

IN his progress of conquest through Asia, Alexander the Great
visited the southern parts of Judea. The elders of the Jewish nation
went forth to meet him. The monarch had often heard the wisdom of
the Jewish Sages highly eulogized, and therefore felt delighted at the
opportunity of conversing with them. In the course of the interview,
the following dialogue took place between him and them : —

Alexander. — Who is most justly more happy than yourselves, or

entitled to the appellation of
" Sage ? "

The Elders. — He who at all times
foresees the result of present under-
takings.

Alex. — Who is most truly a Hero ?

Elders. — He who subdues his pas-
sions.

Alex. — Who is truly rich ?

Elders. — He who is contented
with little.

Alex. — What ought man to do to
live well ?

Elders. — He must accustom him-
self to privations.

Alex. — What must man do to
shorten the duration of his life ?

Elders. — He needs but accustom
himself to luxuriousness.

Alex. — What means must man
employ to render himself beloved by
all ?

Elders. — Let him avoid assuming
any superiority above others.

Alex. — Do you consider me as

not?

Elders. — Yes, we do so consider
thee, if thou employest thy power
to the welfare of mankind.

Alex. — Who is the wisest amongst
you ?

Elders. — We are perfect equals :
This thou canst perceive by the
unanimity of our replies.

Alex. — What induces you to op-
pose our religious tenets ?

Elders. — Their incongruities.

Alex. — What is to prevent me
from causing you all to be put to
death ?

Elders. — Thy honour. * For
though our lives are in thy hands,
yet a breach of faith is beyond the
power of so great a monarch.

Alexander smiled, and dismissed
them richly gifted.

• The King told them, at the commence-
ment of the conversation, freely to ~tate
their opinions, and not to fear displeasing
him.

30:2

V. ON HEBREW SYNONYM ES.

(Continued from page 288.)

uns; norm

THESE verl>s are rendered, in Eng-
lish, " to delay, tarry, defer, and
linger." The learned author of
^lin p * defines the Hebrew verbs
thus: 1H«, he says, signifies, "a
delay from choice ;" riDHD, "a de-
lay from accident;" and tiMS, "a
delay from bashfulness." With
humble deference to such great
authority on most topics, we may
attempt to intimate that this classi-
fication does not well accord, unless
in a very constrained sense, with the
various passages in which these
verbs occur. We may, therefore,
venture to define them in the follow-
ing manner: 1flH, from the prepo-
sition "in**, "after," denotes "a
delay from a want of punctuality,"
the action not having been perform-
ed in due time, although accom-
plished soon afterwards; and *1HM
can be rendered, "to defer, or put
off." " When thou makest a vow,
in«n Mb, thou shall not defer pay-
ing it." (Deuteronomy xxiii. 21.)
linn *m«-«i'l» "And the young
man did not defer doing the thing."
(Gen. xxxiv. 19.) Again: In his
prayer Daniel said, " Hearken, ()
Lord! do, IHMrrbK, and defer
not." (Daniel ix. 19.) All these,
and many others, are expressive of
the same meaning as that which is
here denoted.

found only in the hithpael
, is composed of the inter-
rogative pronoun no, "what,"
which is here repeated, or doubled,
to express a delay from hesitation,
or want of determination. This re-
petition, no~tta, is very common
in Hebrew words, expressive of a
want of order and regularity : As
bsbs, from b^S, " to confuse, con-
found ;" TDSD, from 'pD, "to en-
tangle : " And in nouns we say,
^IDGDK, from PpN, "a mixed or
heterogeneous multitude ; " "[SSSn,
from "|Sn, "a changeling," "one
who is undetermined in his opi-
nions."

* R. Naphtali Hirts Wessely.

This mode of repeating words is not
uncommon in the English language ;
as riff-raff, pell-mell, zig-zag, &c.,
all expressive of a want of regularity
and order. Thus HOMO conveys
a want of determination, and is
properly translated in the English
Bible, "to linger." In the history
of Lot it is said, nnnDJVi, " He lin-
gered ;" (Gen. xix. 16;) not being
determined whether he was to be-
lieve the warning of the angels or
not. In the history of Joseph we
find, Ijnpnonrt »?lb >3, "Except
we had lingered." (Gen. xliii. 10 )
In various other places this verb
expresses lingering, hesitation, &c.

ttfltfS, in the conjugation !>J)Q,
like ttf IS, " to be ashamed." in b\?,
expresses the longest possible delay,
&c., mostly from unexpected causes :
As UMS"li? lb»m, " they tarried till
they were ashamed " of waiting any
any longer : (Judges iii. 25 :)
Ditto UftyS-'O, " that Moses delay-
ed:" (Exod. xxxii. 1 :) Moses staid
too long; so the people almost de-
spaired of his returning. This verb
occurs but seldom in Scripture, and
/is understood in the same sense as
here explained.

DS3 and pm

THE difference between these two
verbs appears very plainly in Scrip-
ture ; they signify " to wash and
cleanse," with this distinction : f»rn
expresses "a washing of the body
or flesh in general." Thus
lltys pmi, "And he shall wash Ms
flesh with water : " (Lev. xvi. 24 :)
lS1p nyrm, " Thou shalt wash the
inward part." (Exod. xxix. 170 It
may also be translated, " to bathe : "
As, " The daughter of Pharaoh went
pmb to bathe on the river side."
(Exodus ii. 5.) Hence ri¥m.
" a bathing place." (Cant. iv. 2.)

But DSD applies only to "a wash-
ing of garments," and is mostly fol-
lowed by i:s, tins!?, or rrboty : As
1DS51 : itinsb p>s DSS : ri;s DSSI

Qnbaty, The participial noun is
DS1S. As, "the fuller's field:"
(Isaiah vii. 3 :) " As fuller's soap."
(Mai. iii. 2.) In a metaphorical seine

OX HEBREW SYNONYME3.

303

it conveys the idea of " cleansing or
purifying the heart from sin : " As
•;-y: -:r;r, "O cleanse me from my
sins.'" (Psalm li. 4:) "----'•
" Wash me, that I may be whiter
than snow : " (Psalm li. 9 0 For if
T:~'-~.r, thou icashest thyself
with nitre, &c , thy iaiquity is marked
before thee." (Jer. li. 22.) This
clear distinction exists between the
two verbs throughout Holy Writ.

THE principal idea of both is, " the
actual meeting of two persons or ob-
jects that have been moving towards
one another in a particular direc-
tion.'' The verb ;.':•:, with 1, signi-
fies generally, "to fall upon one,"
or, " to injure one : " As
-I--;-;-:- *". " That they may not
use thee ill in another field ; " (Ruth
ii. 22 ;) or, " to border upon : " As,
----- - •;;£• " He bordered on

Jericho." (Joshua xvi. 7-)

There is, however, a nice distinc-
tion between these two verbs, accord-
ing to the author of rr"27t2 Ty "
which is deserving of notice, ^n.
ha says, denotes " an accidental
meeting, where there was no inten-
tion of the parties to come together,
but they met by chance : '' As,
":zr •-,"!/ thou meet thine ene-
my's ox : " (Exodus xxiii. 4 :)
'I:;-:"', " They met Moses and
Aaron." (Exodus v. 20.) Hence is
derived the noun ":2, "accident,
chance, rencontre," which is cognate
with the verb rrp, "to meet by
chance."

The verb ":•:, according to the
learned author, is composed of two
words, rra, " here," and "J:, " to
touch." The verb tl*:2, which he
thinks is a compound of C': and ~S,
expresses " a'meeting by design and
purpose ; " namely, that the persons
thus met had to accomplish a certain
object or purpose : And in this sense
it is cognate with the verb HV2, " to
find out the object looked for, or
searched after." A few examples
will explain this : "U.*:-:' *r, " When
my brother Esau should meet thee."
(Gen. xxxii. 170 By the context it
• R. Salomon Pappenheim.

appears that Esau went on purpose
to meet Jacob; therefore, U.';2, and
not i"-2, is here used. Again:
•~^':-:'1, "And he met him on the
mountain of God." (Exodus iv. 27.)
Here, also, it appears that Aaron
came expressly to meet Moses ; as it
is said, " And he also goeth to meet
thee." (Exodus iv. 14.) And, in a
figurative sense, the Psalmist says,
••-:z: .-?.** — ~~i. "Mercy and
truth are met together." (Psalm
Ixxxv. 14.) In various other pas-
sages of Scripture we may venture to
define these two verbs according to
the nice distinction here stated.

D13 and nil

THE principal idea of these verbs
is " a removal from a place of danger
to a place of safety." The shades
which distinguish them are these :
n~l denotes "a clandestine escape,"
and expresses the flight at a great
distance, with the probability of the
party never returning again. But
e idea of " running
away from' immediate danger," and
may be effected openly. A few ex-
amples will suffice to explain this :
When Moses fled from Pharaoh, it
is said, ntTO rOl'l, "And Moses
fled," &c- (Exodus ii. 15.) He fled
from Eijypt, not to return until he
heard, =-:.«* — r: *r ?',-":, "All
the men are dead who sought thy
I'.fe." (Exod. iv. 190 .And, in a
figurative sense, we find, rv: "i".
" And he fled like a shadow."
(Job xiv. 20 This verb is often fol-
lowed by the possessive •>, or the pre-
position 7tf : As,rs "p JT2, "Flee
thou to Labau my brother."
(Gen. xxvii 43.) Many other
instances occur. The ingenious
author mentioned in the preceding
article considers n*!2 as compound-
ed of ml and «::, "to be Tt
large, " to come ; " and the noun,
in Rabbinical Hebrew, is nrp*l3,
" escape."

Of the verb C"1.: we have the fol-
lowing examples : In the history of
Joseph, when he fled from Potiphar's
wife, it is said, c:*% " And he fled,
and got him out," to avoid the dan-
ger of committing a crime : " And

304

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

the Egyptians tr D3, fled against it,"
(Exodus xiv. 2,) to escape the dan-
ger of the approaching sea. The
person who killed .another by acci-
dent is directed D13t>, " to flee to the
city of refuge." (Num. xxxv. 15.)
And in a figurative sense, also :
1DJ1, "Till the shadows

(To be continued.)

flee away:" (Cant. ii. 17:) For,
when the sun rises, the shadows
retire. Again : " At thy rebuke
pD1i\ they fled." (Psalm civ. 7.)
Hence the noun DliD, "a protection
and refuge from danger." Thus are
these two verbs to be critically dis-
tinguished. M. J.

VI.

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

jDltf, Schmonah Perakim Ltrwnbam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAIMONWES.

(Continued from page 23Q.)

IN addition to what we have thus
stated, it becomes our duty to eluci-
date some passages of Holy Writ
which have led many to entertain
the erroneous opinion, that God sub-
jects man to predestination. Such a
passage is the one in which the
Deity saith to Abraham, " Thou
must know, that thy seed shall be
strangers in a land which belongeth
not to them ; and they shall be en-
slaved, and they shall be maltreated,
during four hundred years. But the
nation to whom they shall be sub-
jected will I judge." (Gen. xv. 13,
14.) From this prediction, many
deduce this argument : " Is it not
evident that the Egyptians weie pre-
destined by the Deity to oppress
the seed of Abraham i Why, then,
were they punished ? Were they
not forced, in accordance with the
Divine decree here predicted, to en-
slave the seed of Abraham ? " The
answer to this argument is : Suppose
we say the Divine decree is, that
" of the men to be hereafter born,
some are to be observers of the law,
and others transgressors ; some are
to be wicked, and others pious ;" —
this decree would certainly be ac-
complished. But it does not thence
result, that those evil-doers must
necessarily and unavoidably do evil,
or that this righteous man must ne-
cessarily and unavoidably do what is
right. On the contrary, every evil-
doer becomes such from his own
choice : Had he preferred to be righ-
teous, it was in his power, and no
one prevented him. And the righte-
ous likewise, had he preferred to do

evil, was unimpeded in his choice.
For the Divine decree was not pro-
nounced against certain individuals
only, of whom it might be said,
"They are predestined, and must
obey what is decreed against them."
It was pronounced against the whole
human race generally ; every indi-
vidual of which does, nevertheless,
retain the free choice and volition
which is one of the constituent prin-
ciples of his nature and being. Ac-
cording to this definition, every or
any individual Egyptian had it in
his power not to maltreat or injure
the seed of Abraham, if such had
been his determination ; as no one
was peculiarly predestined to be
their oppressor.

The same answer will also apply
to that other passage which is some-
times used as an argument for pre-
destination; namely, " Behold, when
thou sleepest with thy fathers, this
people will arise, and prostitute itself
to the worship of the strange gods
of the land to which they are coming,
and forsake me, and break my cove-
nant which I have made with them.
Then will my anger be kindled
against them in that day, and I will
abandon them, and I will hide my
face from them," &c. (Deut. xxx.
16, 17.) There is no real distinction
between what is here said, and these
words subjoined : " Whosoever is
guilty of idolatry will meet with cer-
tain punishment." But should no
one be found who commits that of-
fence, the denunciation becomes a
nullity, and all the curses unfulfilled.
(To be continued.)

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, llox ton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FOURTEENTH DAY OF SHEBAT, 5595.
FHIDAY, FEBRCAHY 13, 1835.

No. 20.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

(Continued from page 293 J

WE trust it has been satisfactorily
sho-.vn, that through the proper ad-
ministering of the Divine laws, and
by their observance of them, the
Israelites had, at the time of the
death of Solomon, not only attained
to a powerful and happy condition
among the nations, but that the be-
neficent and ennobling character of
those laws had produced correspond-
ing effects on the bearing and ex-
pression of countenance of the peo-
ple generally.

It is now our melancholy task to
treat of that part of the history of
our people, in which the laws of man
were substituted for those of the
Deity — The will of a mortal prince
for that of the Governor of the uni-
verse ; its unfavourable conse-
quences, both on their condition
and appearance, may easily be fore-
seen and imagined.

The Israelites were about to learn,
by sad experience, that the warning
given them, when they asked for a
king, emanated from the highest
authority ; and that the happiness
and salvation of future generations
were involved in their obstinate ad-
herence to that request.

It is evident that Solomon, shortly
before his death, had already begun
to enact laws of his own, which were
directly at variance with the spirit of
the Divine laws : For the great
wealth derived from the sources al-
ready mentioned proving insufficient
to support his luxurious establish-
ments, and to meet his inordinate
expenditure on objects tending as
little to the glory of his God as to
the happiness of the people, he ap-
pears to have laid on them unbear-
able burthens, in order to supply the
deficiency.

The change which at this time
was about to take place in the laws,

manners, and customs of the Israel-
ites, had been productive of such
vital consequences, not only to
themselves, but to the whole human
race, that we shall be held excused
for dwelling here, a little, upon a
topic of such absorbing interest.

If we examine into the nature of
the laws and government of the
Hebrews under their judges, (and
the kings, until the latter days of
Solomon, regulated themselves en-
tirely by them,) we shall discover
nothing in ancient or modern history
to be compared to them. No peo-
ple ever possessed more personal
liberty, and yet none were ever un-
der such great, but wholesome, re-
straints. The head of the govern-
ment was in reality the Sovereign of
the universe : and we must call to
mind that when constituting the Is-
raelites a nation, He, for the second
time since the creation of man, most
clearly and impressively gives it to
be understood, that a voluntary ser-
vice was that which alone was ac-
ceptable to Him ; for we learn that,
at Sinai, the people, having been
sanctified and brought before him,
were asked, in the most solemn
manner, whether they were willing
to undertake His service. At the
moment of conferring upon them
the highest favour it is possible for
us to imagine, He still makes it
known that it will be bestowed only
on their expressing a willingness to
receive it ; He will not impose it
upon them. And what a law was
there offered them ! Whilst probing
the innermost recesses of his heart,
and exposing every weakness of his
nature, we perceive that all its ordi-
nances are for the good of man. It
is a tender, an affectionate and wise
Father, advising and regulating the
conduct of his beloved children ; in-

306 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN' THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

viting them to lay their disconsolate
head, when under afflictions insepa-
rable from this temporary state,
upon his paternal breast, — to lean
upon his strong arm for support
when likely to fall — to make of him
their confidential friend as well as
ruler. — Every thing is given by Him
— blessings are poured out without
measure ; and what does He ask in
return ? That his children should
live and enjoy his benefits by lend-
ing a willing ear to his admonitions
and advice ; the only object of which
was their own good.

We may inspect as minutely as we
please the laws given by the Deity
to the Israelites, and we shall find,
as might be expected, that they con-
template nothing but the well-being
of the whole community,1— of the
lowest as of the highest. None
could draw from them any sanction
for sacrificing the national welfare to
his own selfish purposes.

This is so clearly inculcated in
them, that, from the death of Solo-
mon until the destruction of the
temple he built, when the nation
lost its independence, we find the
wicked princes that reigned over
Israel and Judah respectively dur-
ing that period, were anxious about
nothing so much as the obliterating,
out of the minds of their people, all
recollection of the divine laws ; for
they were so many witnesses against
them. They consequently encourag-
ed, and even compelled, the people
to bow down to false gods, and to
adopt the impure riles and horrid
customs which belonged to their
worship, in conjunction with that of
the true God. They put the Levites
to death, and must have taken such
special care to destroy every trans-
cript of the law, as well as recollec-
tion of its contents, that the greatest
exultation was expressed by Josiah
the good king of Judah, and the
whole nation, on the discovery of
the original copy of it ; but the
greatest consternation soon succeed-
ed their joy on learning its awful
denunciations ; proving most clearly
the success that had attended the
impious efforts of the wicked princes
to suppress all knowledge of it, for
the purpose of substituting their own
twill for the laws of God.

Immediately after the death of
Solomon, the people, with Jeroboam
at their head, apply to Rehoboam
for some alleviation of the burthens
laid upon them by his father. The
young prince rejects the advice of
his ancient counsellors, and adopts
a quite contrary course, recommend-
ed by his juvenile courtiers. The
people on coining, according to his
appointment, at the end of three
days, to learn his answer, are rough-
ly told, " RJy father made your yoke
heavy, but I will add thereto ; iny
father also chastised you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scorpi-
ons." Whereupon ten of the tribes
immediately declare themselves ab-
solved from his service, and subse-
quently make Jeroboam king over
them ; Judah and Benjamin only
now remaining under the govern-
ment of Rehoboam. From thence-
forward the kings governing the ten
revolted tribes were denominated,
" the kings of Israel," while those
over Judah and Benjamin were call-
ed, " the kings of Judah."

Thus the nation, divided into two
separate and hostile kingdoms, be-
came incapable of keeping the na-
tions they had subdued in subjec-
tion ; and their frequent and bloody
contests with each other tended still
further to weaken and render them,
at length, an easy prey to the enemies
that attacked them.

Jeroboam, apprehending that his
own people, resorting to Jerusalem
to keep there the appointed festivals,
might thereby be led to place them-
selves again under the government
of Rehoboam, and put himself to
death, takes the bold and impious
step of raising an insuperable bar-
rier to a reconciliation ever taking
place between the now separated
bodies of the nation, by causing to
be made, and presenting to his peo-
ple, two calves of gold, 'and telling
them, " It is too much for you to go
up to Jerusalem . Behold thy gods,
O Israel, which brought thee up out
of the land of Egypt."

It would not be easy to account
for the Israelites immediately falling
into the idolatrous worship offered
them by Jeroboam, were we not, in
some measure, relieved from the dif-
ficulty by the recollection, that Solo-

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

307

mon, in his latter days, had done the
nation the irreparable injury of
weakening their attachment to the
pure and sublime religion of their
fathers, by his impious and execra-
ble example of erecting- altars to
false gods, to please his foreign
wives. Such an example set by one
who was looked upon by his people
as possessed' of wisdom beyond all
men, must have had a most perni-
cious effect on their minds, and would
deservedly render the name of this
prince detestable to the descendants
of the people whose subsequent un-
happy destiny he has most probably
been instrumental in producing, by
so criminal an act. Jeroboam, like-
wise, addressed himself to the guilty
indolence of mankind, when he put
the matter on the footing, that " it
was too much trouble for the people
to go up to Jerusalem to serve their
God." Ungrateful mortals ! ye are
prone enough to call upon your
Maker for protection when in need
of it, — for blessings to be showered
upon you without measure ; but
when it is the question to evince a
sense of your obligations, ye seek a
thousand excuses to evade the per-
formance of the slightest of your
duties towards Him ; and his houie
of prayer may be desolate and the
receptacle for noxious and unclean
creatures, for what ye care.

The festivals which Jeroboam
instituted at the same time in honour
of the gods he had erected, were, no
doubt, such as ministered to sensu-
ality and impure desires — too apt to
cause mankind to give up heaven
itself for their disgusting and tran-
sient enjoyments.

Hence we perceive how the selfish
interests of princes induce them
often to mislead a whole people.
They care not what irreligion or im-
morality they introduce among them,
provided they can securely reign
over them; not for the nation's
good, but for their o\vn selfish pur-
poses. In no history, as in this of
'the Jews, has the rise of false reli-
gion and the establishing of immoral
and cruel rites and customs, been so
clearly traced to its true source.

It is quite xinnec-essary f«r our
purpose to go over all the events of
this dark period in the annals of our

2 K

nation, which was not, however,
without some gleams of sunshine,
and notable instances of more auspi-
cious intervals ; proving, beyond
contradiction, that their wicked
princes were mainly to blame for the
derelictions of the people ; for, as
often as a good prince reigned over
them they are found ready to follow
rejoicingly the better road in which
he led them. The source at which
the flame in their breasts had been
lit was too pure for it ever to be
totally extinguished, and we conse-
quently perceive, that whenever they
approached again the sacred foun-
tain,— the law, — it burst out afresh
in all its wonted brilliancy.

During this period the evidences
crowd upon us to show the purpose
for which the Deity had selected the
Israelites, — and the most anxious
care is displayed in consequence, for
keeping them to his service, or for
inducing them to return when they
had swerved from it ; but every re-
proof, remonstrance, and punish-
ment proving unavailing, both with
king and people, there really appears
to have remained no other means for
preventing the Israelites becoming
as abandoned in their conduct, and
as ignorant of true religion as other
nations, than the withdrawing of
them, through the interposition of
the Deity, from the government of
their guilty princes, the principal
cause of those disorders. We con-
sequently learn, that in the time of
iioshea, king of Israel, the king of
Assyria comes against Samaria, con-
quers the whole of it, makes the
greater part of the inhabitants cap-
tives, and distributes them in the
cities of the Medes. (2 Kings xvii. )
Judah subsequently receives her
punishment for her misdeeds; for,
in the reign of her prince Zedekiah,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
comes against and takes Jerusalem,
burns the temple and principal edi-
fices, dismantles the city, and takes
all the better classes of inhabitants
captives to Babylon and its provinces.
We have intentionally thus briefly
adverted to the terrible catastrophe
which befel our nation at that dis-
tressing period, to avoid harrowing
the feelings of our readers with de-
tails of the horrors of the siege.
2

.308

THE M1SHNA.

As faithfully as all the promises
for good made to our people had
been kept by the Deity, so were his
denunciations of evil accomplished.
On no single point has a pretence
been left for either the Israelites or
other nations to cast the shadow of
a doubt on the Divine origin of those
promises and denunciations ; nor,
consequently, to question the truth
of the revelations and predictions
contained in the sacred volume : And
he must be wilfully blind who does
not recognise in the whole the
word and finger of the Most High.

It was in the course of those stir-
ring events in the history of the
Israelites which led to the loss of
their independence, and the destruc-
tion of their temple and city, that
the greater portion of the most emi-
nent of their prophets arose. The
boldness, disinterestedness, and de-
votion they evinced in the perform-
ance of the services to which they
were appointed by the Deity, afford
the most unequivocal proofs both of

the truth of their mission, and of
that highrnindedness which the pure
and sublime religion of the Jews was
calculated to inspire. Their lan-
guage, as we have before remarked,
offers incontestable evidence of the
exalted sentiments and highly culti-
vated understanding of the people.
Nor can it be supposed, however
persevering their wicked princes had
been in endeavouring to obliterate
all those ground-works for erecting
such noble attainments upon, that
they had succeeded effectually ; in-
deed the subsequent history of the
Israelites whilst in captivity, as we
shall have occasion to show, removes
all doubt upon the subject.

We may, then, fairly assume, that,
notwithstanding the many dark
spots in their history, there was no
period, whilst they dwelt in their
own land, in which we can present
to ourselves the Israelites as a people
possessed of an ignoble mien, but
very much the contrary. A. A. L.
(To be continued.}

II. THE MISHNA.

• JTOH D5DO, Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

f3lb P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

( Continued from page 295.)

HJLLF.L and Shammai obtained the traditions from them. Hillel said, " Be among the
disciples of Aaron ; love peace, and pursue it ; love mankind, and cause them to ap-
proach the law." (I. 12.)

and furthermore, " He
at the mountain of God,

COMMENTARY. Be among the dis-
ciples of Aaron — This founder of the
sacerdotal line was not only most
pious, but Holy Writ affords him its
testimony when it says, " Thy
Thummim and thy Urim to the man
of thy piety." (Deut. xxxiii. 8.) His
principal quality was the desire of
peace ; not only externally with his
fellow-men, but internally with him-
self. He was the elder brother of
Moses, whose prophet (or orator) he
was appointed to be in Egypt ; as it
is said, "Thou shalt be unlo him as
a God, and Aaron thy brother shall
be thy prophet. "(Exod. iv. 16.) But
although his younger brother was
thus exalted above him, he did not
envy his elevation, but even rejoiced
at his superior dignity, as we read :
"He goes forth to meet thee ; and
when he sees thee he will rejoice in

his heart
met him

and he kissed him." (Exod. iv. 14 ;
27.) Peace, inward tranquillity, and
happiness of mind, are the greatest
blessings that Providence be-
stows on man. The divine promise
is, that the day will come when this
most precious gift shall be extended
to all mankind ; as it is said, " I
hear what God speaketh ; for he pro-
claims peace to his pefrple, and to
his pious, that they shall no more
return to folly." (Psalm Ixxxv. 9.)
He who attains inward peace, which
can only be done by the perfect sub-
jugation of his passions, and ardent
love of his Creator, will avoid sin
and folly. Accordingly, the crowning
grace of the Lord is peace. For when
his Priests, instructed by him, bless-
ed the people, their words were," The

THE MISHNA.

309

Lord bless thee and preserve thee :
The Lord let his countenance shine
on thee, and be merciful unto thee :
The Lord turn his face to thee, and
grant thee peace." (Xum. vi. 24-26.)
This perfect inward peace constituted
the peculiar piety and excellence of
Aaron : Therefore the prophet saith,
" My covenant was with him, life
and peace. The law of truth was in
his mouth. In peace and righteous-
ness walked he with me. For the
lips of the priest preserved know-
ledge. Instruction was sought from
his lips, for he was a messenger of
the Lord of Hosts." (Mai. ii. 5-7.)
Strive, therefore, to become the dis-
ciple of Aaron ; imitate him ; and,
in order to do this, thou must

Love peace, and pursue it — Not
only must thy conduct be peaceful
towards thy fellow-men, but thou
must love and cherish peace within
thyself. The constant aim of thy pur-
suits must be, to cultivate peace
with thy God, with thy fellow-men,
and thyself, and to promulgate con-
cord and good-will as far as thy in-
fluence can possibly extend. In
these pursuits thou must persevere ;
nor be discouraged if thy kind efforts
are thwarted by those to whose wel-
fare they are directed. For, as the
object of man's existence on earth is
true happiness here and hereafter,
and as that happiness must, in a
great measure, depend on the degree
of inward peace each has been able
to attain, that man becomes the great
benefactor of his neighbours who,
by example and precept, teaches
them duly to appreciate that first of
all the bounties of the Deity, — peace.
Love nv")2, mankind, and cause
them to approach the law — This rab-
binical word, nVTl, derived from
**~1, "create," does, in its primary
signification, mean creatures gene-
rally. Here, however, it is applied

in a restricted sense to the human
race. We are directed to extend our
love to all men, without any excep-
tion ; accordingly our instructer
does not use either of the words
"}2r\ or i^i, "friend," or "neigh-
bour," which might, in their applica-
tion, be limited, to our co-religionists ;
but he uses that word which in its most
restricted signification applies to all
those creatures of thy God who are
of the same race with thee ; whose
outward conformation, as well as
theirmentalinterjor, resembles thine ;
whose virtues and whose faults,
whose merits and whose failings
thou sharest ; and who, in every
clime, and under all circumstances,
are thy brethren, bound to thee, as
thou art to them, by the sacred
hands of humanity. And in order
that we may not mistake his mean-
ing, our instructer closes the sen-
tence by saying, " And cause them
to approach the law." His instruc-
tion is addressed to Israelites already
acquainted with, and observing the
law. To these he says, " Let thy
conduct towards all men be regu-
lated by the dictates of mercy and
justice. Say not, 'I am of the
chosen seed of Abraham, while that
man is a blinded Heathen ; and, there-
fore, he is not worthy of my love
ahd kindness.' On the contrary,
love him, teach him by the purity of
thy conduct to respect thee. Respect
will inspire him with love for thee,
and the wish to emulate thy bright
example. Thus thou wilt cause him
to approach thy law ; and, in teach-
ing him the knowledge of the true
God, obedience to his command-
ments, and faith in his word, thou
wilt evince the highest degree of
love to those who are not of thy
people, but whom thou causest to
become partakers of the blessings
and perfections of thy law."

HE further said, "He who seeks a name
retrogrades. He who teaches not the path
the crown perisheth.

He who seeks a name loses fame —
He who seeks, through his great
proficiency in the law, extensive
knowledge, and apparent piety, to
establish his own reputation, loses

loses fame. He who does not progress,
of life, is guilty of death. He who abuses

sight of the great aim of his studies,
which is the acquisition of truth, as
the only means of promoting the
true happiness of himself and his
fellow-men. And as the gratification

310

THE M1SHNA.

of those noxious and selfish passions,
vanity and pride, predominates in his
mind, our instructer cautions him,
that such unworthy motives cannot
obtain for him that which he seeks ;
but that, on the contrary, the more
he indulges in his ambitious long-
ings, the more he exposes himself to
the certainty that his hypocrisy will
be detected, and his fair fame
branded in this world ; while, in
that to come, the unerring sen-
tence of the Great Searcher of
hearts consigns him to that infamy
which is the just reward of deception
and hypocrisy.

He who does not progress, retro-
grades— Our instructer here uses a
play upon words, i^D11 FpDID Ri>%
in order to condense this most im-
portant maxim in a few words, and
engrave it on the memory, — that
man, at no period of his life, is sta-
tionary, there is no fixed point at
which he can make a stand ; but he
must either progress towards perfec-
tion, or he retrogrades towards im-
perfection. No certain limits are
assigned to his progress : As long
as he lives he can and ought to ad-
vance in virtue and wisdom ; and if
he finds the effort which this advance
requires to be beyond his strength,
he may rest assured that he is actu-
ally receding from that perfection
which he had already to a certain
degree attained. This instruction is
contained in the word F)^D\ which is
derived from the root P]DM, "lessor
decease," and isused here toimply the
loss of mental power, and moral de-
cease, which is sure to be the portion
of him who plumes himself on the
degree of piety, righteousness, and
knowledge \\hich he has acquired,
and who, prompted either by his
own vanity, or by worldly dissipa-
tion, strives not to improve himself,
and to make advances in his progress
towards perfection.

He who teaches not the path of life,
is guilty of death — In this maxim our
instructer teaches us that it is not
sufficient for man that he himself
should know and pursue the path
of eternal life, but that it is his duty
to impart that knowledge to others :
As it is a trust confided to him not
for his own exclusive benefit, but for

the advantage of all his fellow- men.
And that moral death which they
incur, and which he is not active to
prevent, is imputed to him as if he
had been active to contribute thereto.

He who abuses the crown, perishes
— In the language of the tanaim,
the epithet [crown is applied to every
species of mental dignity. Thus
they enumerate the crown of the
law, the crown of priesthood, the
crown of royalty, and lastly, but
principally, the crown of a good
name. It is the duty of every one
to strive to attain the first and the
last of these crowns, which it is
perfectly in his power to reach ; but
while this endeavour is most laud-
able, our instructer cautions us that
it is a most heinous offence to abuse
these crowns ; to profane their
dignity, and to quench their lustre,
by sullying them with the stain of
selfishness or unworthy motives.
The proper use and the abuse of this
moral dignity are separated by a line
so narrow, — depending entirely on
man's inward impulse, centred in
his heart, that abyss, the depths of
which no human eye can fathom, —
that in many cases it is next to impos-
sible his fellow men can discern or
judge whether that narrow line has
been overstepped or not. But there
is One who " searcheth the heart and
inward parts : " The abuse of the
gifts his bounty has bestowed is a
crime so foul and rank, that the cul-
prit's doom is certain. "He pe-
risheth."

The two mishnas on which we
have commented have a close and
intimate connexion with each other.
The one is a counterpart of the other.
As the first commences with advising
us to be among the disciples of
Aaron, possessed of genuine piety ;
the second cautions us not to per-
mit vain fame or ambitious desires to
mislead us. As in the first we are
told to love peace and pursue peace,
so in the second we are cautioned
that if we are not active in that pur-
suit we shall retrograde. As in the
rst we are directed to love man-
kind, so in the. second we are cau-
tioned, tbat unless we evince this
love in its highest degree, by teach-
ing them, as far as our ability goes,

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE BABBIES.

311

the path of life, we render ourselves
guilty of participating in the moral
death' which befals them. And as,
lastly, the first closes with the in-
struction, that we are by our exam-
ple and precept to cause all mankind
to approach the law, so in the second
we are cautioned that if we abuse
the moral dignity conferred on us,
far from causing others to approach
the law, we scare them away, impede

the beneficent purpose of God, and
must perish. And in order that his
maxims might be perfectly under-
stood by all Israelites, our instructer
pronounced the first in Hebrew, and
the second in Aramaic, those being
the two languages most current
amongst them, and best understood
by the Jews of his time.

(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.
Sepker Ikkarim : " EOOK^OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

CHAPTER X.

Ix order to enable the mind of the
believer to form some idea of the
power of prophecy, and of its vari-
ous degrees, it behoves us to enter
into the following details : The in-
fant, in his original construction, is
void of all perception ; he is gifted
with five senses only, which, how-
ever, are latent, and do not develope
their activity at once, but gradually.
When first the infant breathes the
air, the coarsest of his senses,
feeling, commences its operations,
and enables him to perceive the ef-
fects of various substances ; as hent
and cold, hard and soft, &c. His
next advance is the acquisition of
the less coarse sense of taste ; by
means of which he perceives the
sweet, the bitter, &c. The next step
of his progress developes a sense, not
only more noble, but likewise ex-
tending its operation to some dis-
tant object, whereas the former two
are confined to direct contact ;
this sense is smelling, which enables
him to perceive pleasant and dis-
agreeable odours. The next sense
which comes into activity, being
more subtile and extensive in its
operations, is that of hearing, by
means of which sounds become per-
ceptible to him. Lastly, the exer-
cise of his senses is completed by
the active operation of his sight,
which enables him at a greater dis-
tance to perceive the outward shape
and appearance of various objects.
Each of these five senses is confined
to its own sphere of action, and does
not contribute to the developement

(Continued from page 301.)

of any other. The faculty of seeing
will not give man the perception of
sounds or of flavour, nor will taste
enable him to perceive distant ob-
jects by their outward form, &c.
As the infant advances in age, and
becomes habituated to the use of his
senses, he obtains a higher faculty,
which is not limited to the mere
perception of objects which, in them-
selves, are distinct, but which, by
means of such perception, enables
him to know and distinguish vari-
ous objects from each other, so as
to recognise that which has once
before been presented to his sight,
although, in the interim, it has been
absent from his eye ; because it has
become engraven on his mind or
imagination, by means of the sensi-
ble perception. As his years in-
crease, these first steps lead him on
to a new degree, discernment • that
is to say, a power abstractedly from
the senses, so as not only to distin-
guish and recognise objects distinct
in themselves, but likewise the kinds
and species, or so as to know the par
ticular marks by which they are de-
termined : Thus, for instance, not
only to know Reuben and Simeon,
but likewise that they are men, and
that other animate beings, gifted
with speech and similar in confor-
mation, are men, as these are the
particular marks peculiar to the race
generally, and not distinctive of in-
dividuals only. As he grows older,
the next faculty with which he is
endowed is judgment, to distinguish
the essential from the accidental, — the
absolute, the possible, and the im-
possible. This faculty, which is not

312

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

shared by other animals, is exercised
by man, through the combination
of perceptions, arising indirectly
from the senses, guided and regu-
lated by discernment, and which
forms the means of his attaining all
knowledge.

These four* degrees form the basis
of human reason ; beyond which
man, generally, does not advance ;
nay, there are some who remain sta-
tionary at the third, or even at the
second, degree. Yet some highly
gifted individuals surmount this
general basis, in a manner, which
those who are not similarly gifted
cannot conceive. For as he who
is born blind cannot form any idea
of light, or distinction of colours,
whatever pains may be taken to il-
lustrate their nature, so likewise he
who is not endowed with mental
light cannot conceive its nature, or
even the possibility of its existence ;
while the fact, that it does exist, is
demonstrated by experience : As, in
addition to the four degrees which
we have above enumerated, we be-
hold some who penetrate further,
and utter wise sayings, or pour forth
hymns to the praise of the Great
First Cause in language so sublime,
yet regular, as to be altogether dif-
ferent from the common terms of
parlance, and to excite alike the ad-
miration of the hearers, and the sur-
prise of him who gives it utterance ;
and who knows not whence he is be-
come gifted with this power any
more than the child knows how it
begins to speak. This quality is with-
in the reach of that sublime faculty of
the soul called unipn fTft, " sacred
inspiration ;" which, however, is not
general to all men, but is imparted
in various degrees to some.

Nor is this the only superstructure
raised on the basis of reason. Indi-
viduals gifted with an ardent imagi-
nation, either natural or heated
through certain ceremonies and pre-
parations, become excited to that
degree, that they see, or fancy
they see, visions ; and the abuse
of this extreme fervour of their

* 1 . The developement of the five senses.
2. The power of distinguisliiug. 3. The
power of classifj-iag l>y certain marks. 4.
Judgment through the combination of per-
ception and discernment.

imaginations causes them to re-
sort, either in reality or in idea, to
that intercourse with impure spirits,
called sorcery, which is most pe-
remptorily forbidden by the law,
under penalty of death. Dreams
which, either in part or wholly, prove
true, are likewise, to a certain ex-
tent, engendered by the force of
imagination. Such were the well-
known dreams of the chief baker
and the chief butler of Pharaoh, and
of Nebuchadnezzar. Fanatics gifted
with 'this extreme ardour of imagina-
tion, are apt to mistake their dreams
for inspired visions, and to consider
themselves as prophets ; they are,
however, greatly in error, for all
their dreams, or supposed visions,
do not turn out to be true. To
these the prophet of the Lord al-
ludes, when he says, " Thus saith
the Lord, Woe to the wretched pro-
phets who are misled by their own
minds, and by that which they have
not seen. Their visions are false,
their sorceries deceptive. They say,
The Lord speaketh ; and the Lord
has not sent them ; and they expect
to see their word accomplished."
(Ezek. xiii. 3, 6.) When the intel-
lectual force exceeds that of the
imagination, dreams prove true ; in
the contrary case, they are mostly
untrue. And the greater this intel-
lectual force is in any man, the
more adapted is he to become a
prophet. But as, even in these,
the imagination is not completely
subjected, but still retains a con-
siderable degree of influence, they,
although fit to have the divine in-
spiration imparted to them, neverthe-
less,— through the struggle between
the imagination and the intellect,
and the opposition and intervention
offered by the former, — the Divine
emanation does not rest on them,
except through the complete pros-
tration of the corporeal powers ;
through terror, convulsive trem-
blings, temporary dissolution of the
nervous system, and tremendous
agitation of the whole frame, so that
the soul, worked upon by a superior
attraction, is almost on the point of
quitting its mortal tenement. This
state of entire exhaustion is succeed-
ed by profound lethargy; during
which he beholds his prophetic

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

313

vision, and acquires a knowledge of
which previously he was not pos-
sessed. Such knowledge is either of
general information, or relates to
particular events. This is the first
degree of prophecy. Many, how-
ever, do not remain stationary.
Sometimes, the further progress en-
sues after this first degree is attain-
ed, and as its consequence ; while
others at once reach the second and
superior degree, according to their
greater or less mental and moral
aptitude. For if the intellectual
force is such, that the imagination
cannot actively intervene or offer
a protracted resistance, the pro-
phetic inspiration is imparted free
from those terrific accompaniments
which we have above enumerated :
Nevertheless, the vision is still ob-
scure, and as a dream ; the state in
which he is placed being called
rrciin or rjD*nn, "somnolency" or
" deep sleep." This second degree of
prophecy is called nM'lO or nmo,
"apparition" or "vision:" And though
it is imparted only when the intellec-
tual force greatly predominates over
the imagination, yet it is on the
passive imagination chat it operates :
So that although the information
imparted is true and real, yet the
apparition by means of which it is
conveyed is unreal, as it exists but
to the mind's eye, presented through
the medium of the imagination. But
there is a still superior degree of in-
spiration which is attained by him
whose intellectual force has com-
pletely subjugated his imagination,
and reduced it to such a state of
quiescence that it is incapable of
harbouring unreal apparitions, and
reflects only that which is really
seen : Thus, whatever such a prophet
hears is the undisguised emanation
of prophecy, and whatever he sees
is real. Such was the degree at-
tained by Ezekiel: What he ob-
tained was a real insight into the
secrets of creation and Divine mys-
teries. The prophet who attains
this eminent rank actually sees and
hears the angel who communicates
to him a knowledge of events either
general or minute, intended for his
own information or for that of
others, for particular nations or for
mankind in general. This is the

2

third degree of prophecy, which
sometimes is attained as a conse-
quence of the preceding two degrees,
or is at once acquired, (according
to the aptitude of the prophet,) as
was the case with Samuel, who, at
the very commencement, heard a
voice, but did not experience any
terrific agitation, or behold any ap-
parition : As it is said, " Samuel
lay within the temple, in which was
the ark of the Lord ; and the Lord
called, SAMUEL ! " (1 Samuel iii. 4.)
Nevertheless, even this degree of
prophecy is not enjoyed when man
is perfectly awake, but is imparted
when he is in an intermediate state
between dreaming and being awake.
It is called "n ~P, " the power of the
Lord."

One or other of these three de-
grees has been imparted to all the
prophets respectively, in accordance
with the Divine will, which freely
bestows it, but without which it is
beyond the reach of every moral or
mental perfection, nor is there any
stated or fixed period for the repe-
tition of the Divine communication;
but the prophetic inspiration is
sometimes withheld, or dormant,
during a considerable space of time.
There is, however, a possibility that
man can proceed, beyond these three
degrees, to that most eminent state
when imagination is not at all con-
cerned with the inspiration imparted
to him. Accordingly, he neither
sees nor imagines to himself any ap-
parition or vision, real or unreal,
either of angels or other figures ; but
he distinctly hears the prophecy
which is communicated to him, and
the commands which he is to deli-
ver either to a part or to the
whole of the human race, by
means of which the perfection of
their purpose is to be attained. This
communication is imparted while
the recipient is perfectly awake, not
interruptedly, but continuously. As
soon as a question arises in his duly
prepared mind, he receives a direct
reply. The man who has attained
this super- eminent degree ought no
longer to be called "man," but
1«:^, or " messenger of the Deity."
We have, however, no one except
Moses our teacher (peace be with
him !) who did attain to such excel-

314,

THE DAILY SERVICE IN THE SECOND TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM.

lence. His prophecy was distin-
guished above all others, as himself
was pre-eminent : As it is expressed
in Holy Writ : " And the Lord
spoke unto Moses face to face, as a
man speaketh to his neighbour."
(Exodus xxxiii. 11.) By the words,
face to face, is meant that the com-
munication was direct and immedi-
ate, without any intervening medium
whatsoever, either of angel, vision, ap-
parition,or imagination. By the words,
as a man speaketh, is conveyed, that
the communication was not in any
kind of dream, much less in an agi-
tated state, but in perfect and con-
tinuous consciousness and tranquil-
lity : So that whenever he presented
himself in the tabernacle, he heard
the voice which spoke to him ; as it

is said, "When Moses came into
the tabernacle, he heard the voice
speaking to him from the lid ; be-
tween the two cherubim." (Num.
vii. 87.) Holy Writ likewise gives
its testimony that whenever Moses
had occasion to invoke the Divine
communication, it was afforded him,
as it is said : " Stay ye here,
and I will learn what the Lord
commands you ; " and accord-
ingly he receives the necessary in-
struction. (Num. ix. 8-10.) So
likewise respecting the daughters of
Zelophehad it is said : " And Moses
submitted their case before the Lord."
When he received the instant reply,
" The daughters of Zelophehad have
spoken justly." (Ibid, xxvii. 5-11-)
(To be continued.)

IV. THE DAILY SERVICE IN THE SECOND TEMPLE AT
JERUSALEM.

FROM THE

Extracted from the t

Vienna, for 5581

I. ORDER OF THE PRIESTS AND
LEVITES ON DUTY.

THOSE priests who were appointed
to the duties of the coming day, as-
sembled on the previous evening in
the great fire-room, in the inner
court of the temple ; some of them
to perform their vigils, and others to
be prepared for their service at the
first break of dawn. Those who
had performed the service of the ex-
piring day handed them the keys of
the temple and inner court, which
were received by one of the new-
comers appointed for that purpose,
and deposited in a cavity which was
in the fire-room ; there he hung
them up by a golden chain, and
covered the mouth of the cave with
a marble slab. The Levites who
mounted guard during the night, or
were appointed to assist the priests
in the service of the coming day,
likewise arrived, relieved their bre-
thren who were on duty, and receiv-
ed from them the keys of the outer
courts. Lastly, arrived the Station-
men, or Representatives of all hrael,
whose office, as such, was to wit-
ness the morning sacrifice. For, as
this sacrifice was brought on behalf

11D, BY R. SALOM COHEN.

an Hebrew periodical, published at
(1821,) p. 38.

of the whole people, it was requisite
that either all Israel, or, at least, its
representatives, should be present at
the holy act. And, as the presence
of the whole nation was impossible,
certain Israelites were elected to re-
present the twelve tribes : These
were called 1DVD -ItfiN "Station-
men." They were bound to be pre-
sent during the sacrifices, and to di-
rect their whole attention to the holy
rites, but they did not actively parti-
cipate in the duties of the day. As
the priests and Levites were formed
into twenty-four divisions, which in
rotation served in the temple, each
during one week, all Israel, likewise,
formed a corresponding number of
divisions, each of which in rotation
furnished its quota of " Station-
men," to represent the nation. And
as both priests and Levites had sta-
tions assigned to them in Jerusalem,
in order that they might be ready, as
soon as their turn came, to enter on
their duties, there was likewise a
station assigned to the representa-
tives of the nation, for the same
purpose, at Jerusalem. When the
turn of each respective division ar-
rived, (which happened twice in every
year,) and the priests and Levites

THE DAILY SERVICE IX THE SECOXD TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 315

proceeded to Jerusalem, they were
accompanied by such of the " Sta-
tion-men" as resided in the towns and
villages nearest Jerusalem ; for those
of the more distant places were ex-
empt from personal attendance, but
performed their worship throughout
the week in the houses of prayer or
synagogues nearest their habitations.
Each of the twenty-four divisions of
Israelites had its chief, who was called
TO^rr %d'tf-, "Captain of the Sta-
tion." Of these " Station-men,"
two representatives for each tribe,
or twenty-four at least, were each
day bound to attend.

As the Divine service commenced
at a very early hour, all necessary
preparations were completed, and
whatever was requisite held in readi-
ness. The priests caused the Levites
to arrange the sacred utensils, (con-
sisting of ninety-three various arti-
cles,) and to fetch the different sacri-
fices from those in whose care they
were. The utensils were placed on
a table of silver, which stood to the
south of the great altar. When this
was done, one of the priests, by com-
mand of the principal gatekeeper,
tooks the keys 'from the cavity in the
fire-room, and locked the temple
and the inner courts. He then re-
placed the keys in their place of de-
posit, and closed the cavity with the
marble slab ; on this he placed
a pillow, upon which he slept during
the night. The Levites likewise
closed the outer courts ; and all re-
tired to their chambers to rest, ex-
cept those priests who performed
the vigils, and the Levites who
mounted guard. The " Station-
men," the officers of the temple,
and one of the magistrates, whose
duty it was to be present during the
drawing of lots by the priests,* like-
wise passed the night within the
precincts of the temple.

After midnight and as the morn-
ing began to dawn, the Captain of
the temple went forth accompanied
by some priests, took the keys, and

• The appointment of priests to perform
the various rites of sacrifice, of incense,
&c., was determined by lot every morning.
This was done to prevent disputes or envy,
as the performance of certain parts of the
service might be held to be more dignified
than others.

£ through the small wicket in
the fire-gate, to the inner court,
where his companions parted and
formed two troops, which, guided by
lighted torches, proceeded eastward
and westward, to examine the court,
and to see whether every thing was
in due order. Both troops met at
the baker's room ; and, having
found every thing properly arranged,
they hailed each other, and exchanged
the greeting of " All's well."

In the interim the other priests
arose, bathed, and put on their sa-
cred garments of office. They then
assembled in the hall of justice,
where, directed by the Captain of the
temple and the magistrate, they
proceeded to draw lots * for the
respective portions of the service
which each individual was to per-
form. The Levites likewise arose,
and prepared for their service ; and
the " Station-men " were called up,
in order to be present. The copper
basin (which in the time of the se-
cond temple was kept under water,
after having been used) was then
pulled forth ready for the priests to
wash their hands and feet.

The principal gatekeeper next di-
rected the Levites to throw open all
the gates of the outer courts, while
the priests at the same time blew the
trumpets in order to proclaim to the
city the approaching commencement
of the morning service. The follow-
ing preparatory arrangements were
next made : —

Cleansing of the Altar of Burnt-
Offerings.

AFTER the priest, who by lot had
been appointed to this service, had
performed his ablutions, he took the

* The manner of drawing lots was as
follows : The priests, holding up one finger,
formed a circle round the Captain of the
temple and the magistrate. The former
pronounced any optional number, and began
to count the fingers, commencing, at
hazard, with any one of the priests, whose
mitre he took off, in order that he might
know that he had begun with him. He
proceeded to count the fingers till he com-
pleted the number he had pronounced, and
he who closed the number was allotted to
perform the service first in rotation. This
was repeated till each service was provided
for.

2 s 2

316 ON HEBREW SYNO.VYME8..

silver fire- pot which [stood in the lighted, on which were burnt those

south-western corner, and ascended remnants of the preceding day's

to the altar, stirred the burning em- sacrifices which had not been entirely

bers which he found upon it, put some consumed.
of them into his fire-pot, descend-

ed, went towards the east, and threw Selection of Singers and Musicians.
the contents of his hand-furnace on

the heap of ashes which was formed THE Leader of the musicians next

there. Other priests, furnished with proceeded to select from among the

brooms and shovels, next mounted Levites those who were to chant the

the altar, swept the cinders from the Psalms apportioned to the service of

grate, forming them into a round the day, and others who were to ac-

heap under the altar, while others company them with instrumental

brought out from the wood-yard music. He also appointed the priests,

several logs of wood, which were who, during the offering of the sacri-

placed on the" grate, (where the fices, were to blow the trumpets.

sacrifices of the preceding evening The persons selected proceeded to

had been consumed,) and were the rooms in which the musical

lighted by means of the burning instruments were kept, where each

embers found thereon Another man fetched that on which he was to

pile of wood was also arranged perform.

at the south-western side of the The guards were then relieved ;

altar, and also lighted with the and the priests and Levites who had

burning embers of the preceding been on duty the preceding day, de-

day. This last was called " the con- parted to their respective homes. All

stant fire," which was not permitted this was done before day-break, and

to go out. A third fire was also by the light of flambeaux.
(To be continued.")

V. ON HEBREW SYNONYMES.

(Continued from page 304.)

THESE verbs, all expressive of fear, or of a prognostic of an approaching
evil or calamity, are indiscriminately translated, " to dread, fear, or appre-
hend." A celebrated philologist has defined these English verbs thus :
" We apprehend an unpleasant occurrence ; we fear a misfortune ; and we
dread a calamity. What is probable is feared ; what is possible we appre-
hend."*

In Hebrew these verbs are completely synonymous. Our lexicographers
define them generally, Nlinty njn by JUNII Jlpth nNV, "a strong
fear of, or an anxiety concerning, an approaching evil ; " which is the prin-
cipal idea of them all. The nice shades which may distinguish them lie in
the different prepositions or particles which follow them : Thus,
'D, KT, or, ins, conveys the idea or apprehension of an evil near at hand'-
CD1> msniD NVWijlX "[I fear not, or, feel no apprehension about, the
myriads of people who set themselves around me." (Psalm iii. 6.)
nb^ IH&n NlTl «!?, " Thou shalt not fear, or dread, the terror by night;"
tDD1> P|li>> fttO, "nor the arrow that flieth by day . " (Psalm xci. 5 :)
" The Lord is my light ; NVN 'DD, whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the
strength of my life ; 1 H 5 « •• D D, of whom shall I be afraid ? " (Psalm xxvii. 1 .)
The above, and many other passages in Scripture, where NV or THE) is fol-
lowed by ''D, express an apprehension of danger being near at hand.

* Crabbe.

OX HEBREW SY.VOXTMES. 31"

':£•? fr*"' conveys an idea of apprehension as to theprobable consequences
of an evil result. We fear to do a thing lest some evil shoiild accrue ;
although there he no appearance of immediate danger. When Moses
related to the Israelites the wonderful occurrences which took place before
Mount Sinai, he said, U?«n >:22 tZTit**1 '-, "For ye were afraid of the
fire ; " (Deut. v. 5 ;) that is, " Ye feared the consequences of being
destroyed by the fire ; " as they themselves expressed their apprehension,
rsn librwn fS, "lest the fire will consume us." (Deut. v. 25.) When
king Saul persecuted David, it is said, " And Saul continued,
TIT >iQD H^b, to be afraid of David;" (1 Sam. xviii. 29;) that is, he
feared the consequences of a rencontre with David, under the apprehension
that he could not subdue him. This is the general tenor of signification
conveyed by the verb NV, when followed by *i 52.

NV, with the sign of the accusative, fiH, expresses "fear on account of
power." We say, V211S n« tf~* ~'-X !~r, "A servant fears his master,"
knowing that it is in his power to punish him. When Jacob heard of the
approach of his brother Esau, he said, in« '2:K Nl*"^, "For I fear him."
(Gen. xxxii. 11.) Moses, encouraging the Israelites respecting the con-
quest^of the land of Canaan, said, p»n try flN INVJT^Nj, "Fear not
(the power of ) the people of the land." (Num. xiv. 9.) Now, asfiN s~-
denotes dread on account of power, it is metaphorically applied also to
divine power, or reverential fear or awe. It likewise intimates a feeling of
veneration from a child to its parent, and from a creature to its Creator ; an
expression of respect to man, and of adoration to God. Of this signification
numerous examples may be found in Scripture. The few which are sub-
joined will suffice : INVn V3N1 1D« U^», "Every one shall fear his mother
and Tather." (Lev. xix. 3.) Here fi» is implied. I^DI *:S "rrriN «V,
"My son, fear thou the Lord and the king." (Prov. xxiv. 21.)
1MM •m'Vl, " And they feared him," nttfDTl« 1»V IttfiO, " as they feared
(reverenced) Moses." (Joshua iv. 14.) CDU,»rrn» ir»vb, "To fear (reve-
rence) the glorious and great name." (Deut. xxviii. 58.) And, interroga-
tively, IHVrrKb 'm«n, "Fear ye not me? " (Jer. v. 22.)

The participial noun of NV is NTU, which may be rendered, " awful,
venerable, or amazing : " As, iltn tMpon «"nj-nD, "How awfully grand
is this place ! " (Gen. xxviii. 17.) VttftfD M113 no, " How amazing or
marvellous, are thy works ! " (Psalm cxlix. 14.) Also the noun N"l T2 : As
«Tiab "<& IP'SV, "They bring presents to him who ought to be feared."
(Psalmlxxvi.il.) And, in the plural, C3'»")1!D ; (Deut. iv. 34;) m«Tl3;
(Exod. xv. 2 ;) all expressive of fear, reverence, awe, &c.

Thus we have endeavoured to define the verbs denoting fear, by calling
the attention of the student to the various particles which follow them.

THE idea of " going after a person to reach him," or " after a thing to
obtain it," is common to both these verbs, and may be rendered, " to fol-
low, pursue ; " also, " to persecute." In English they are distinguished
thus : \\efollow with a friendly intention; we pursue with a hostile inten-
tion. We follow a traveller whom we wish to overtake; we pursue a delin-
quent ; and we persecute an inveterate enemy. The verb Pp", embraces all

318 MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

these ideas, in a physical or moral sense, and is used either favourably~or
injuriously. It is generally followed by the accusative, D», or by irm, or
, in both senses : As, >in» TEH"), " Follow me on : " (Judges iii. 28 :)
n« ^fU ^TVl, " Gehazi followed Naaman." (2 Kings v. 21.)
By the context it appears that he followed Naaman to obtain a favour.
(Ibid.) "rrriKnjnb nail 3, "We/oZfoiotoknowtheLord." (Hosea vi. 3.)
And, figuratively, we find, Fpin pltf ply, "Thou shalt pursue or follow
righteousness." (Deut. xvi. 20.) "Seek peace, inSTil, and pursue it.''
(Psalm xxxiv. 14.) " Happiness and mercy, '31EHV, will follow me.''
(Psalm xxiii. 7-) We find it as often to denote persecution : ^lEnin nn^,
"Why do ye persecute me?" (Job xix. 22.) >ttf&3 2*1 N F|~n, "Let the
enemy persecute my soul." (Psalm vii. 5.) "And the angel of the Lord,
C3 5*1*1, persecutes them." (Psalm xxxv. 6.) tDjPti^i '3'iN !~I5*1*1N,
" I will pursue mine enemies, and overtake them." (Psalm xviii. 37.)
OS'i'lNTlN CD n 5 111, " Ye shall pursue (chase) your enemies." (Leviti-
cus xxvi. 7-)

pbl, as taken from another signification of the same verb, " to burn," or,
in hiphel, "to ignite," denotes "a hot or pressing pursuit," or "vindictive
persecution." The following are the only examples which occur in Scrip-
ture in this sense : Jacob said to Laban, " What is my transgression,
O*tN npb*l *D, that thou hast so hotly or vindictively pursued me?"
(Gen. xxxi. 36.) lipP*! tZP*inn 7$, "Upon the mountains they pursued us."
(Lam. iv. 19-) " He ordains his arrows, tlD'pbl*lb, against the persecutors.''
(Psalm vii. 14 ) " The wicked in his pride, *3JJ p^l*, persecutes the poor."
(Psalm x. 2.) All these denote an excessive anguish to the person thus
pursued, compared to heat ; which is the primitive signification of the verb
p^T Hence the rabbinical noun, np*^*l, "burning," or " ignition."

M. J.

VI. MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

D3D*li> D*p15 rtlDty, Schmonah Perakim Lerar.bam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

B Y MAIMONIDES.
(Continued from page 304.)

THE punishments denounced in the to such offences : As it is declared

Law cannot be considered as indi- in Holy Writ, " They chose their

eating that the offences against which own ways, therefore must I bring

they are directed must necessarily punishment over them."

be committed. We are not to say, But it may be objected, " God

when we read that stoning is award- said, I have hardened the heart of

ed against a certain crime, that he Pharaoh, &c. ; nevertheless, this

who desecrated the Sabbath was monarch was punished severely, and

predestined to commit that sin. Nor perished miserably, although he was

is it because certain maledictions are not left to the exercise of his own

denounced in the law, that we are free-will or agency." This is an ob-

to say, " That generation was idol- jection the refutation of which will

aters, in order that these maledictions make us acquainted with a most im-

might be fulfilled." No ; according portant principle. Listen, therefore,

to the dictates of their own free-will attentively, and reflect maturely on

they sinned ; and, having done so, what I am going to say on this sub-

they met with the punishment due ject. Compare my opinion with that

MORALITY OF THE RABB1ES.

319

of others, and give the preference to
that which is best. I allow, that
had Pharaoh and his counsellors
committed no other sin than that of
refusing to permit the Israelites to
depart, agreeably to the Divine com-
mand, the cause of their punishment
would have been very doubtful. For
the Holy One (blessed be HE !) pre-
vented their obeying his commands,
as it is written, " For I have hard-
ened his heart and the hearts of his
servants." How, then, could he
require them to dismiss the Israel-
ites, and punish their non-obedience,
at the very time when he had pre-
destined, or, in other words, com-
pelled them to do the contrary?
This would not only appear unjust,
but would completely contradict all
that we have hitherto advanced. But
the real state of the case is very dif-
ferent : Pharaoh and his counsellors
had already, from their own free-will,
without^ any constraint whatever,
become guilty of great cruelty
and oppression towards unoffending
strangers, over whom they tyrannized
with a rod of iron. And that this
was done of their own accord, is
proved by Holy Writ, which ex-
pressly relates, " And he said to his
nation, Behold this people, the chil-
dren of Israel, is become numerous.
Let us consult," &c. This crime,
then, was committed by them with-
out any external constraint, but
solely through the dictates of their
free-will, and of their evil passions ;
and the punishment due to their
crime occasioned their hearts to be
hardened and impenitent until jus-
tice had taken its course ; therefore
they persevered in their impenitence,
and refused to dismiss the Israelites,
when commanded by the Deity so to
do. Had the intention of the Deity
been only to liberate the Israelites,
Pharaoh and his adherents would at
once have become humbled, and the
Israelites would have gone forth
without delay or opposition. But,
in addition to the liberation of his
own people, Divine Justice required
that their oppressors should meet
with due punishment, (on account of
the cruel servitude and the tyrannical
usage which the Jews had endured,)
agreeably to the Divine assurance,
"The people whom they serve will

I likewise judge." Had Pharaoh
and his subjects repented of their
misdeeds, they would .have escaped
the infliction of that chastisement
which they so richly merited. But
Divine Justice would not then have
been satisfied, or performed its pro-
mise to Abraham; they were there-
fore made to persevere in their hard-
ness of heart ; and thus their evil
deeds were commensurately visited.
This double purpose is expressly de-
clared in Holy Writ, when it says,
" If I were now to stretch forth my
hand, and strike thee and thy peo-
ple with a pestilence, thou wouldest
be swept from the earth : I only suf-
fer thee to exist to evince the great-
ness of my power," &c. (Ex. ix. 15.)
Let no man cavil against what we
have here stated ; namely, that Pha-
raoh and his people were made to
persevere in their hardness of heart
and impenitence. Reflect, 1. That
our sins are known to the Holy One
(blessed be HE !) in all their hideous
minuteness ; and that his wisdom
and equity apportions the punish-
ment. Sometimes this chastisement
is inflicted in the present life only ;
sometimes in the life to come ; and,
sometimes, the visitation is inflicted
both in the present and in an after-
state. 2. That the chastisement in
this life is various ; sometimes it is
bodily, as illness ; sometimes it is
pecuniary, as poverty ; sometimes it
is both at once. And in the same
manner that undertakings, the per-
formance of which is ordinarily in
man's power, are frustrated in order
to punish him ; — as, for instance, if
his hands become lamed, so that he
can do no work, as was the case with
Jeroboam the son of Xebat ; or that
he loses his eye-sight, as was the
case of the Sodomites assembled be-
fore the door of Lot's house ; — so
likewise the opportunity and incli-
nation for repentance is withheld
from the sinner as a meet punish-
ment for his crimes : Accordingly
he perseveres in his impenitence,
until he perishes in his wickedness.

It behoves us not to endeavour to
penetrate the motives of Divine
Justice, or the profundity of Divine
Wisdom, and to decide why precise-
ly such a punishment, and no other,
has been inflicted. Such a research

320

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

would be as presumptuous and un-
profitable as it is to decide why dif-
ferent species of animals vary in their
conformation, or why the hare is not
a lion. It is sufficient for us to
know that the attributes of God are
justice and mercy, that he punishes
the sinner according to his crimes,
and rewards the righteous according
to his virtues.

Thou mayest be tempted to ask,
" If the intention of the Deity was
twofold, — to liberate Israel, and to
punish Pharaoh, — why did God re-
iterate his messages and exhorta-
tions, none of which Pharaoh could
obey ? And having caused his heart
to be hardened and perverse, in order
that the full extent of punishment
due to his former crimes might be
meted out unto him, why is a de-
mand repeated with which it is im-
possible for him to comply?" We
answer, " This, too, is in perfect ac-
cordance with the Divine wisdom
and justice. God purposed to im-
press Pharaoh with the conviction,
that he can suspend, or altogether
deprive man of, that freedom of will
which is inherent in his nature,
whenever such is the Divine will and
pleasure. " I command thee," —
was the summons delivered through
Moses to Pharaoh, — " that thou shalt
dismiss my people. Thou wilt not
obey. If thou doest according to
my behest, thou wilt be preserved :
but I know thou canst not obey, and
wilt persevere in thy blind resist-
ance until thou dost perish." Com-
mon sense would have dictated to
Pharaoh at once to liberate the Is-
raelites, and thus not only escape
the impending punishment, every
new stage of which was beforehand
announced ; and at the same time
to disprove the words of Moses, who
repeatedly declares, " Thou canst
not obey ; it is not in thy power to
dismiss them." But it was not pos-
sible for him to pursue the obvious

course pointed out by reason. Thus
the most plain and positive proof of
Divine omnipotence was afforded to
all mankind : As it is said, " In
order that my name may become
known throughout the world ; "
namely, that mankind may know
that if such is the decree of Divine
Justice, man may be punished by
the suspension or utter privation of
his free-will respecting any one cer-
tain action, while it is previously an-
nounced to him that such will be
the case ; nor can he, by any means
in his power, vindicate the independ-
ence of his will.

Such was likewise the punishment
of Sihon king of Heshbon. The pu-
nishment of his former misdeeds,jcom-
mitted at the promptings of his free-
will, and without any constraint what
ever.Jconsisted in his refusing the Isra-
elites to pass through his territories.
The consequence of his hostile refusal
of their request, was a war, in which
he was overcome and perished. ~ In
Scripture it is said, " And Sihon the
king of Heshbon would not permit
us to traverse his dominions," &c.
(Deut. ii. 30.) The wording of this
passage has caused great difficulty to
the commentators, who thought
that Sihon was punished ^solely for
not permitting Israel to pass through
his land ; which caused them to ask,
" How could he be punished who
was not a free . agent, as the Lord
had hardened his heart ?" like many
others who put the same question with
respect to Pharaoh, under the supposi-
tion, that he too was punished solely
for not dismissing the Israelites. But
these suppositions, as we have ex-
plained, are erroneous. They were
not punished because they refused
to do that which, their hearts having
been hardened, was become impossi-
ble to them ; but their hardness of
heart, and consequent misfortunes,
were the punishment incurred by
their previous crimes.

(To be continued.)

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE,

VOL. I.

TWENTY-FIRST DAY OF SHEBAT, 5595.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1835.

No. 21.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

(Continued from page 308 J

IF, by what has gone before, it has
been sufficiently established, that
laws, manners, and customs exert a
great influence on the external ap-
pearance of nations, the sketch
already given of their history will
convey a tolerably correct idea of the
expression of countenance and bear-
ing of the Israelites up*to the period
to which we have just brought it ;
and attending still to the moral
causes under which, by their subse-
quent history, we find them placed,
we shall be enabled as we proceed to
represent them, as it were, placed
before us at the several periods, im-
pressed with the effects of those
powerful agents.

Having laid down as a maxim,
that, " As the habitual thoughts and
actions are noble and virtuous, or as
they are the reverse, the human coun-
tenance will be stamped with their
impress ;" our next care must be
to trace any unfavourable appear-
ances in the countenance and bearing
of a people to their true source —
whether the moral defects that have
produced the manifestations we per-
ceive are to be attributed to a vicious
propensity inherent in the people
themselves, or to some external
pressure exerted upon them against
their will ; it is but fair to judge
nations as we judge individuals by
this candid course. It might then
happen, that, instead of feeling dis-
gust and aversion towards them, our
sympathies ought rather to be
awakened for a people degraded and
rendered vicious by the acts of those
•who, having the power, impose
laws and regulations upon them

2

tending to produce the very effects
for which they afterwards unjustly
hold them in contempt ; thus add-
ing insult to the injuries they have
inflicted upon those unfortunates.

To no people on earth do these re-
marks apply with greater force than
to^he Israelites We have already
had occasion to observe, that their
derelictions were owing principally
to the faults of their native Princes
Ever since these ceased to reign over
them they have been subject to
foreign impulses and pressure^ of
every description. Tossed to and
fro on an ocean of troubles and suf-
ferings, it is much more to be won-
dered at that they were able so fre-
quently, at several periods of their
history, after they lost their inde-
pendence, to present so noble a front
and bearing as they are known to
have done to other nations, and to
have preserved the many excellent
traits in their character which might
excite the envy of their detractors,
notwithstanding all that has been
done to extinguish every virtue and
good feeling in them, than that they
are not even worse at the present
day, than their most bitter enemies
take a delight in misrepresenting
them.

Whilst we consider the Israelites
may fearlessly challenge history to
show, that any other nation under
similar circumstances have come out
of the fiery, trials they have under-
gone as little scathed as themselves,
— whilst they may be justified
towards man, — equally liable to err,
and to faint under severe sufferings as
themselves, — their "conduct towards

322 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

their God can neither be excused
nor extenuated. Tcr Him under all
circumstances and trials they owed
a most important service, which
could be properly performed only by
a perfect obedience to his will, and
by the keeping of His laws, statutes,
and commandments. Many illustri-
ous individuals of their nation, in the
performance of this duty, have laid
down life itself sooner than swerve
from His worship, or bring reproach
on His name by their evil conduct,
whatever may have been the means
used to compel them to either.
Were these sacred examples con-
stantly kept in view, and emulated
by every Israelite, then, however
their superior dignity and virtue,
which even the greatest sufferings
ought not in the slightest degree to
attenuate, might excite the envy and
hatred of mankind, (for the good are
more subject to experience the
effects of those evil passions than
the bad,) they could never draw
down contempt upon them, but
would undoubtedly command re-
spect.

Their great fault was their obsti-
nately persisting in their demand to
have a temporal King set over them,
when they had the Governor of the
universe for their Lord and Ruler.
They were, subsequently, too prone
to follow the impious advice of their
guilty Princes, though it is likewise
true that when smarting under its
consequences they are found still
more ready to follow the paths in
which their good Princes led them.
But these intermitting feverish
changes could not answer the pur-
pose for which they had been se-
lected by the Deity. By a uniform
and consistent course they were to
instruct the world that there is but
ONE GOD, THE CREATOR, SOVEREIGN
AND RULER OF THE UNIVERSE, WHOSE
WILL IT IS OUR DUTY TO LEARN,
WHOSE COMMANDS IT IS OUR LIFE
TO OBEY. It could not be tole-
rated, that they should put forth
these important truths one day, and
be found the next worshipping idols
of wood, brass, &c. If, in the com-
mon intercourse of mankind, such
inconsistency renders a man unwor-
thy of being listened to by his fel-
lows, how much more must it have

tended to bring reproach upon the
religion of the Israelites, and to
cause the great truths they thus by
fits and starts promulgated to be dis-
regarded ! Whence we perceive the
propriety of their being withdrawn
from the sway of their own Princes,
who were the principal, if not sole,
instigators of these mutations, and
placed under that of foreign Mo-
narchs ; and we shall see that,
through the various effects of this
change in their condition, the great
purpose for which they had been
selected is more likely to be attained,
than if they had been left to
dwell in their own land, enjoying
the utmost prosperity.

It is proper here to notice,
that their God had placed it fully in
their power to execute the mission
to which he had appointed them,
whilst they themselves were in the
enjoyment of the greatest honour
and prosperity; but His beneficent
purposes to the whole human race
were not to be frustrated by their
waywardness ; nor would He forfeit
his promise to their forefathers,
that " in their seed should all the
nations of the earth be blessed." And
as in Isaiah, (chapter lix. verse 21,)
it is again declared, " As for me this
is my covenant with them, saith the
Lord : My Spirit that is upon thee,
and my words which I have put in
thy mouth, shall not depart out of
thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of
thy seed, nor out of the mouth of
thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from
henceforth and for ever."

Nor would he allow " his word to
go forth and return profitless," as
we learn in the same Prophet, chap-
ter xlv. verse 23: "I have sworn by
myself, the word is gone out of my
mouth in righteousness, and shall
not return, That unto me every
knee shall bow, every tongue shall
swear."

Wherefore, if the Israelites would
not be the honourable and prosper-
ous, they should be the contemned
and unhappy, instruments — If they
would not be the active and willing,
they should be the passive and com-
pulsory, agents of His Divine pur-
pose. And we see in the whole his-
tory of this people, both as related in
the Sacred Volume, and subse-

OF XATIOXS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

323

quently, the wonderful and uninter-
rupted progressive accomplishment
of the intentions of the Deity, con-
ducted through means strictly in
conformity with his repeated declar-
ations : And in this case, as in many
others which even our limited capa-
city enables us to trace, we perceive
that he uses the same means to
accomplish several of his beneficent
purposes : The punishments and
sufferings of the Israelites, whilst
they tend to correct them of their
faults, are to operate likewise in
bringing mankind round to know
the true GOD.

They appear to have been removed
to Babylon and its provinces rather
as colonists, than degraded to the
condition of slaves, by their con-
querors. Great numbers of them
together were settled in the cities
and villages, where they apparently
attended to their own affairs, with-
out any hinderance or other molesta-
tion than, probably, paying some tax
beyond what was exacted from the
natives of the country. They seem,
likewise, to have been allowed the
free exercise of their religion, with-
out any interference except on the
occasions to which we shall allude
presently. The yoke of the con-
querors lay lightly on the neck of
their captives, for which subsequent
events may furnish a clue, by dis-
covering to us that this lenity pro.
ceeded as much from policy as from
humanity. Our readers will recol-
lect the favourable position of the
country of the Israelites for commer-
cial purposes ; it had tended, no
doubt, to make them expert mer-
chants : in the reign of Jehoshaphat
it is related, that " he had much
business in the cities of Judah."
(2 Chron. xvii. 13.) The Babylo-
nians had the wisdom to avail them-
selves of the superior intelligence
and experience of their captives for
drawing forth the resources and in-
creasing the riches of the country,
by allowing them urimolestedly to
pursue those avocations in which
they had acquired so much expert-
ness. There was nothing in their
treatment and condition to degrade
or depress them to such a degree as,
by their effects, to stamp their coun-
tenance and bearing with an ignoble

2

character. Yet, their present fallen
and dependent state, and the recol-
lection of their absent, beautiful, and
once happy country, could not fail
to affect their minds deeply, and to
give to their countenance a melan-
choly cast, and reflective expression,
" By the rivers of Babylon, there we
sat down ; yea, we wept wh«n we
remembered Zion. We hanged our
harps upon the willows, in the midst
thereof. For there they that carried
us away captive required of us a
song ; and they that wasted us re-
quired of us mirth, saying, Sing us
one of the songs of Zion. How
shall we sing the Lord's song in a
strange land? If I forget thee, O
Jerusalem, let my right hand forget
her cunning. If I do not remember
thee, let my tongue cleave to the
roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not
Jerusalem above my chief joy."
(Psalm cxxxvii.) Such was the sor-
rowful lament of the Hebrew cap-
tives. It proves the estimation in
which their sublime poetry was held
even by their conquerors ; — it proves
that the Babylonians did not hold
their Hebrew captives in contempt.

The expositions and reproofs of
Ezekiel, and the mournful confession
of Daniel in his ninth chapter, were
eminently calculated to embue the
people with the deepest reflection on
the past, — to cause them to regret
the heaven on earth they had lost by
their conduct, — and to grave on
their hearts that firm attachment for
their religion which has never since
forsaken them, however they may
have failed on too many occasions,
at subsequent periods, to regulate
their conduct always by its divine
precepts. From this time may rea-
sonably be dated the assumption of
that rather austere expression of
countenance and melancholy bearing
from which the nation, generally,
has never since been wholly free, —
the effects, most probably, of a deep
conviction that their fallen state, and
the many afflictions they have suf-
fered, have been brought upon them
by their own faults. The Israelites,
destined in future to teach mankind
the knowledge of the only true God,
and to show his power by their own
sufferings and severe trials, had now
and for ever cast away the worship
T 2

324 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

of false gods from their hearts, and
were prepared to lay down their
lives to evince their readiness and
devotion for bis service. They were
soon called upon to instruct man-
kind, by such fearful means, in the
knowledge of the true God.

Among the several young Hebrew
nobles carried captives to Babylon,
whom its king directed to be taught
in the learning and language of the
Chaldeans, Daniel,Hananiah,Mishael
and Azariah, — subsequently named
Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego, — were pre-eminent
over all the o'thers for comeliness of
person, and intellectual acquire-
ments.

Daniel, through divine favour,
having not only recalled but ex-
pounded to the king a dream that
had escaped his memory, and which
the Chaldean learned men were in-
capable of doing, — he and his three
friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, were, in consequence of it,
appointed to the most dignified offices
of the state ; and, as they performed
their duties with consummate skill
and strict integrity, we readily trace
to these circumstances the motives
which induced certain Chaldeans to
accuse the Jews generally of not fall-
ing down and worshipping a golden
image which Nebuchadnezzar had
set up ; for, it is evident, the charge
was made principally for the purpose
of procuring the destruction of the
men who were thorns in their sides ;
accordingly they specially point out
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,
who they invidiously state are placed
over the affairs of the province of
Babylon, as guilty of not serving the
gods of the king, and as refusing to
fall down before the golden image
he had set up. This rouses the
king's anger ; and the scene subse-
quently presented to us is appalling
to human nature, though it appears
to have been viewed with astonish-
ing indifference by the accused.

The men are brought forth, and
shown a furnace heated to such a
degree, that those employed to throw
them into it were themselves con-
sumed by its flames. They are bid
to worship the image on pain of be-
ing committed to the fiery furnace.
— At this trying moment we can,

from the simple narrative in the
Scriptures, imagine these men before
us, with unblanched cheeks, — a
mien as calm as though they had
been told they would be thrown on
a bed of roses, if they obeyed not, —
no obstinate pride in a wrong or vain
cause knits their limbs and strength-
ens their hearts. They are filled
with a due sense of the importance
of the trial that was now to be made
before the Babylonish king and his
idolatrous people ; whether, from
human weakness, the dread of bodily
suffering should prevail ; or, rising
above it, — though the honours and
distinctions they enjoyed, with the
usual accessories, personal ease and
wealth, must have made those suf-
ferings appear still more dreadful,
— they should evince their readiness
to give up all these and submit to a
cruel death, to teach their barbarous
oppressors, and all nations after-
wards, that no sacrifice could be too
great for the service of the true and
living God. Was this not a case
when they were called upon to lay
down the life they had received from
their Creator, for his honour and
glory ? Their answer to Nebuchad-
nezzar,one of the noblest ever recorded
in history, proves that these men hesi-
tated not a moment which of the
courses it was their [duty to adopt.
Nebuchadnezzar, after threatening
them with the cruel death before
them, if they did not worship the
image he had set up, tauntingly asks
them, " And who is that God that
shall deliver you out of my hands ?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego
answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful
to answer thee in this matter. If it
be so, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver us
out of thine hand, O king. But if
not, be it known unto thee, O king,
that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which
thou hast set up." The trial is
known to have ended in the salva-
tion of the three pious Hebrews, and
the issuing of a decree, forbidding
any one, on pain of death, to speak
any thing amiss of the God of Shad-
rach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
Daniel again interprets another

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

325

of the king's dreams, who, degraded
to the condition of the beasts of the
field, is brought to acknowledge his
own presumption, to praise and ho-
nour the Most High, and to confess
His power and goodness ; when,
being restored to his former state
and prosperity, he issues his noted
edict relating the whole of that re-
markable event, and proclaiming his
humble acknowledgment of the
power and goodness of his Maker.

In the reign of Darius, Daniel,
who was advanced by that prince to
one of the highest posts in the
state, and was intended to be pro-
moted to the very first, excites again
the envy and jealousy of the great
men of the nation, who, for the pur-
pose of entrapping him and pro-
curing his destruction, obtain from
Darius a decree that any one who
should presume to ask a petition of
any god or man for thirty days,
save of the king, should be cast into
the den of lions. This does not
deter the pious Daniel from offering
up his usual orisons to his God. In
consequence of which disobedience
of the royal edict he is cast into the
den of lions; whence he is drawn,
however, without having experienced
any injury whatever, whilst his ene-
mies, who were subsequently thrown
into it, are destroyed by the lions
before they reach the bottom of their
den.

We have dwelt on these instances
to show how perfectly the means
now taking by the Deity for spread-
ing a knowledge of himself are in
accordance with all his declarations,
that through his people all the na-
tions of the earth should be blessed.
The kings of Babylon and the Per-
sian princes we have alluded to had
evidently confessed the true and
living God, but their people appear
not to have been then prepared for
receiving his purer worship ; still, a
commencement was not only made,
but we see, that, from that period
down to the present day, whatever
knowledge of the true God has
been acquired by mankind has been
imparted through the instrumentality
of the Hebrew nation.

The seventy years' captivity being
ended, Cyrus gave the Israelites per-
mission to return to their own coun-

try and to rebuild the temple and the
city-walls. A certain number avail-
ed themselves of the permission, but
a far greater number remained in
Babylon and its provinces, affording
a very satisfactory proof that they
did not feel the yoke of their con-
querors to be very heavy, and that
they were engaged in profitable pur-
suits in that country. Though the
Israelites still continued under the
dominion of the Medes and Persians,
they were allowed gradually to as-
sume the whole management of their
own concerns ; and for a long period
under their high priests they lived
in peace and happiness, growing
into consequence again as the period
approached when the great events
of the Grecian and Roman empires
were to take place, leading eventu-
ally to a more general spread of the
Israelites over the globe than had
ever prevailed before.

It was during the above period
that the events occurred which are
related in the Book of Esther.
Hadassah, her Israelitish name,
adopted as his daughter by her
kinsman Mordecai, was carefully
educated by him. The occasion
that brought her with other young
virgins to the court of Ahasuerus is
too well known to need being re-
lated here. The education of He-
brew maidens must always have
been ^far superior to that of every
other nation of those times. When
the women were assembled with the
other sex to enter into the covenant
with the Deity at Sinai, it was
plainly inferred that they too were
to study the law they had thus vo-
luntarily undertaken to obey. That
study was eminently calculated to
render them the purest of their sex,
to teach them their own dignity, and,
occasioning them to exercise their
mental faculties, to render them the
fit helpmeets and companions of the
other sex, which they were appointed
to be by the Deity when he first cre-
ated this, the fairest of his creation.
It would be no difficult task to trace
in their history that such was the
place held by the Israelitish wives
in the houses of their husbands.

The allusion we made to the man-
ner in which Esther was brought up
is fully borne out by her history.

326

THE MISHNA.

The females in other eastern coun-
tries appear to have been reared,
then, as in the present day, with
views very derogatory to the dignity
of this fairer part of our species.
However carefully their personal
attractions may have been attended
to, and some few pleasing accom-
plishments cultivated, their minds
would exhibit a dreary and chilling
blank ; but Esther's was not so.
The difference between an intellec-
tual countenance, lit up with the ex-
pression of all the mild virtues and
delicate sentiments peculiar to the
sex, and one that, with all its regu-
larity of features and beautiful com-
plexion, still wants the manifestation
that an intelligent soul dwells with-
in, is too well known to leave us for
a moment at a loss for the prefer-
ence given to Esther by the Persian
monarch.

The other young women, who
were in turn to present themselves
to the prince, ambitious, no doubt,
of being selected by him, are said to
have decorated themselves with all
the finery it was customary to pro-
vide them with on similar occasions,
to the fullest extent of their little
hearts', and still less minds', con-
tent ; and we see them sent home
successively by the monarch without
his taking any further notice of
them. But Esther, who most pro-
bably was desirous to be rejected
with disgrace, takes no pains to
please — she asks for no ornaments

with which to deck her person ; but,
unable to divest herself of that supe-
rior grace with which an intellectual
mind, chastened and purified by the
precepts of her religion, had clothed
her, she captivates the monarch,
who had most likely been previously
accustomed either to such passive
creatures as we have alluded to, or
to the haughtiness of a Vashti.

In Esther all the firmness induced
by a properly trained mind and vir-
tuous habits, was combined with
the gentleness of the dove, the mo-
desty of the virgin, and the express-
iveness of countenance ,cf one
brought up to reflection, quite un-
known to the native females : Need
we wonder then, that Ahasuerus at
once perceived the striking differ-
ence, and that his affection, instead
of diminishing, had subsequently
increased to such a degree as to render
him willing to grant any request she
might have to make, were it to the
extent even of half his kingdom !
But how astonished does the monarch
appear when he learns that, if what
she solicits be not conceded, she
herself was determined to perish
with her people, and he would lose
that which he seemed to prize above
his life, — a virtuous and intelligent
companion and queen. The history
tells us, that her affection and duty
to Mordecai was as exemplary after
her elevation as it had been before.
A. A. L.

(To be continued.)

II. THE MISHNA.

JTQN H5DD, Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

pi!? P\ COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

( Continued from page 311.)

HE further said, " If I am not for myself, who will be for me ? If I am for myself alone,
what am I ? And if not now, when ?" (I. 14.)

r COMMENTARY. He further said —
Of all moral maxims that ever have
been uttered, none exceed the above
in importance, truth, and terseness.
Modern authors write entire volumes
on ethics, containing, we grant,
much truth and much beauty ; but
like the diamond when hidden
amidst heaps of pebbles, the reader

must wade through manypages ere he
meets with one sentence that at once
reaches his heart and stamps its im-
press on his mind. But here the dia-
mond is laid open to the view, spark-
ling in its matchless brilliancy, and
unequalled in its worth. Time, how-
ever, has scattered its dust over the
antique jewel: It lies buried; and

THE am UN.*.

327

its owners, no longer conscious of
possessing the treasure, are mute
when the glittering paste of later
ages is tauntingly displayed to their
astonished eyes.

If I am not (concerned) for myself,
who else irill be (so) for me ? — Con-
cisely as we have endeavoured to
render this sentence, we fail in doing
justice to the original expression,
•~ ":. T ';tf ">* z,^. Our teacher
here does not tell us whether his
maxim applies to religion only, or to
our temporal welfare, but gives
every man the salutary counsel, — in no
instance to resign himself entirely to
the care of others ; but that, wherever
his weal is concerned, be it spiritual
or temporal, his own zeal and exer-
tions are to be his first dependence.
No friend, no patron, no teacher,
not even a man's parents, can do
more than second his efforts, or pro-
mote his endeavours. But his own
exertions are the fundamental basis
on which depends his happiness here
and hereafter. The blessing of God,
the grace of the All-merciful, His
benignant aid and support, crown
man's labours. But even He (blessed
be HE)— having constituted man a
free agent, and given him the power
of laying the foundation of his own
destiny, be it for good or for evil, —
does not so far contravene the laws
of creation, as entirely to supersede
man's own efforts, and to grant his
support to the man Vho uses no
exertions for securing his own hap-
piness. Neither in this life, nor in
his hopes of the next, has man the
right to expect, that, while he list-
lessly sits down with folded hands,
and says, " God is good, He will
take care of me," the universal
order of nature will be interrupted
for his sake. "I will bless thee in
whatsoever thou doest," is the Di-
vine promise. Man's best endea-
vours, therefore, must be actively
employed, otherwise he cannot hope
for the blessing of Heaven.

If I am for myself aJone, tchat am
1? — Having, in the previous max-
im, given that most important coun-
sel, the observance of which is indis-
pensable to man's real happiness, our
teach?r proceeds to guard us against
the abuse which might result from
misapprehending his instruction.

This abuse is two-fold: 1. Vanity
2. Selfishness. Man, acting on the
wise maxim of the Sage Hillel, and
succeeding in his efforts, may be-
come tempted to exclaim, " My own
power, and the strength of my hand,
have gained all this wealth for me."
He will then rely on his own wisdom
and might, on the perseverance of
his efforts, and the energy of hia
enterprises. His heart will become
inflated, and he will deny all obliga-
tion to man, or gratitude to his
Supreme Benefactor. This most
foolish and pernicious vanity our
teacher nips in the bud. He re-
minds man of the obligations which
he owes to his parents whose benevo-
lent care fostered his infant years : —
Of the debt of gratitude which he
has incurred towards his teachers
who formed his youthful mind, and
instructed him to know his duties
towards God, his fellow-men, and
himself : — Of his dependence on so-
ciety and its institutions, which ex-
tend protection and security to his
efforts, his person, and his property :
— And, lastly, of the boundless gra-
titude due to his Creator, whose gift
is life, health, and every good here
and hereafter. These great lessons
he conveys in the simple question,
" If I am for myself alone, what am
I y — If all I wish, and all I hope, are
to be engendered by my own unaided
power, what am I when left to my-
self? But there is a second and
worse abuse which may result from
mistaking the meaning of our teacher.
Man, who is told that he must rely
on his own efforts for success, may
be tempted to suppose that his own
success is to be the aim and end of
all his efforts. He will thus become
selfish ; his heart will be closed
against the claims of his fellow-men ;
his ears and eyes shut against the
appeal of charity, or the sight of dis-
tress ; isolated in the midst of crea-
tion, absorbed by his own plans and
his own gratifications, all his sympa-
thies centred within himself, he will
sink below the level of the brute ;
and, useless to his fellow-meu, en-
crusted in the callous shell of sordid
egotism, his portion here and here-
after is utter wretchedness. This
horrid fate our teacher is careful to
avert. He reminds us, that man is,

328

by nature, a social animal ; that his
very existence depends upon mutual
aid and support ; that, if abandoned
solely to his own resources, most of
the comforts of life would be beyond
his reach ; and, lastly, that man was
not sent into this world for his own
sake only, and to live for himself
alone, but that the purpose of his
being is, — to be instrumental to the
beneficent views of his Creator, to
promote the happiness of mankind,
to feel for their sorrows, and to par-
take in their joys. And, in order to
impress these truths the more strong-
ly on our minds, he asks us, or ra-
ther bids each man to ask himself,
" If I am only for myself, what am
I ? " — If self is my all-absorbing
thought, if wrapped up in my own
grovelling egotism, I place myself
beyond the pale of humanity, I cease
to be a man ; and what am I then ?

And if not now, when ? — Our in-
structor, having thus put us on our
guard against the allurements of
of vanity, and the promptings of
selfishness, which a misapprehension
of his meaning might engender, pro-
ceeds to complete his sublime in-
struction, by exhorting man to study
and to know the value of time. The
present moment, the " now," is the
only particle of time which is truly
in man's power. The past is beyond
his control, the future may not be
open to his activity. But if the past
with its recollections, if the future
with its anticipations, is to contri-
bute to thy happiness, make proper
use of that which is present. Forget
not that every past moment is for
ever lost in the ocean of time ; and
that those efforts which thou alone

canst use to promote that happiness
which thou owest to thyself and to
others, are best seconded by duly
husbanding the precious material of
which life is composed. Forget not
that thy existence here is transitory ;
that even the longest space of dura-
tion granted to mortal man consists
but of single moments ; that on the
due use of this material, — so fleet-
ing, that at every instant the future
becomes present, and the present
past, — so uncertain, that he who now
breathes in the fulness of health and
spirits may, in the next second, sink
a stiffened and distorted corpse, —
that on the due use of thy time in
this world, depends thy state in the
life to come. All these (and how
many more !) ideas suggest them-
selves to him who reflects on the
value of time. Therefore our in-
structer only asks this simple ques-
tion, " If not now, when ?" without
suggesting what is to be done now,
or what will be the consequence of
permitting time uselessly to slip away.
The three questions on which we
have commented, our instructer does
not address to his hearers or readers,
but to himself; bequeathing us his
example as a lesson, that it is the
duty of every man to commune with
his own mindj and to exhort himself
to pursue that course which infalli-
bly secures happiness here and for
ever. Verily had Hillel left no other
memorial of his profound wisdom, and
of his sublime and genuine piety, he
would rank high among the great
benefactors of mankind, who, in
fourteen * short words, could con-
dense the most important truths
which it behoves man to know.

(To be continued.)

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikarim :

BOOK OF PRINCIPLES

(Continued from page 314.)

BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.

CHAPTER xn.

THE object for which the gift of
prophecy and Divine inspiration are
imparted to man, is not simply the
foreknowledge of future events, or

the communication of instruction to
some few favoured individuals, but
that entire nations and the whole
human race may attain the perfec-
tion of their purpose. Accordingly,
our Sages, in the Talmud, (treatise

U

12 11

10

9

no

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

329

Btrachoth, folio 32,) after quoting
the verse, " The Lord spoke to
Moses, Go, descend ; for thy people
which thou broughtest out of Egypt
have corrupted themselves : They
have turned aside quickly out of the
way which I commanded them ; "
(Exodus xxxii. 10;) make the fol-
lowing observations : " The Holy
One (blessed be HE !) said to Moses :
' Go, descend from thy greatness :
It was imparted to thee on account
of Israel ; and, as they have trans-
gressed, what art thou to me ? ' '
They thereby intend to say, that the
super-eminent degree of prophetic
greatness attained by Moses was not
conferred on him for his own sake,
but on account of his important
mission to the Israelites, who were
through him to become acquainted
with the laws of the Most High.
For although, as we stated iu the
preceding chapter, Moses stood on
the pinnacle of prophetic excellence,
yet this his eminence was not in
consequence of his persoi.al merits
or immaculate qualities, but on ac-
count of the human race, to whom
he was accredited as the chosen mes-
senger and instrument of the Deity.
This fact justifies our arrangement,
when we say that Revelation, or the
imparting of the Divine laws to
mankind, is an essential principle of
religion : and that prophecy is a
branch emanating from that prin-
ciple. The superficial observer
might be tempted to invert this ar-
rangement, to consider the belief in
prophecy as a fundamental principle,
and Revelation as one of its
branches : And if the principal ob-
ject of prophecy is the foreknow-
ledge of future events, and the in-
struction of a few favoured indi-
viduals, or the working of miracles
under peculiar circumstances, then,
indeed, the latter arrangement
would be correct. But as, on the
contrary, the principal object of pro-
phecy is to enable mankind to attain
the perfection of their purpose,
which can. only be done by means of
Revelation, or the imparting of the
Dirine laws to mankind, to which
great aim all prophecy is subservi-
ent, we are fully borne out in the
classification we have made. In
like manner we have called the be-

lief in reward and punishment " a
fundamental principle," of which
the doctrine of Providence is a
branch. Here too we are aware,
that the superficial observer might
invert our arrangement. If Divine
Providence were exercised towards
man, in the same manner as to other
animate beings on earth, that is,
were it confined to the preservation
of the various species, then our clas-
sification would be incorrect. But
as in using the expression Proridence,
we understand the particular atten-
tion of the Deity directed towards
each individual human beirg. and
observing each of his or her action*,
in order to grant reward or punish-
ment both here and hereafter, we
are here likewise fullyborne out in
our arrangement. This will give
our readers a key to the method
according to which we have ordered
our fundamental principles, and the
branches or subdivisions which they
involve. Thus the ultimate pur-
pose is always the principal consider-
ation, to which the means of attain-
ment are secondary.

CHAPTER xnt.

AT this stage of our inquiries, the
question presents itself, whether
laws truly Divine having once been
revealed to any nation, such laws
can in progress of time be altered
to the same nation ? or whether they
are everlastingly immutable ?

It is evident that Divine laws in
general cannot undergo any alter-
ation, either as respects the Giver,
the receiver, or the object imparted.
As respects the Giver, — God cannot
be subject to any mutation of will.
What at any time it is his pleasure
to enact, it is not possible that he
should at any after-time alter in a
contrary sense : For as whatever he
is pleased to command must be right
and good, the contrary, namely, that
which is wrong and bad, can never
become his pleasure. As respects
the receiver, — there can be no possi-
ble reason why the law should be
altered whilst the nation, educated
under and habituated to that law,
retains the same character and dis-
position as when the law first was

2 v

330

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

imparted.* It would be inconsistent
to assert, that, as the sanitary rules
of the body vary in their application
to the infant, to the youth, to the
full-grown, and to the aged man, so
should likewise the sanitary rules of
the mind, or the laws of religion, be
different in the infant state of society
to what they ought to be in its growth
and maturity ; because the truth and
wisdom of the Divine laws must at
all times possess the same degree of
perfection. As respects the object
imparted, — the principal aim and
purpose of the Divine laws is to
afford man some conception of intel-
lectual truth : And that which is
true can undergo no change. From
all this it is evident, as we stated
before, that the basis of religion
cannot, in any progress of time, at
all be altered.

After mature consideration we
find, however, that although the
basis and essential principles of the
Divine laws cannot undergo any
change, yet there is no proof that
these laws may not in progress of
time be modified even to the people
to whom they were originally given.
It is in accordance with the perfec-
tion of an agent, that his agency
should correspond with the suscepti-
bility of the object upon which he
acts. The sage physician prescribes
to his patient a certain diet, without
informing him how long these dietic
rules are to be observed ; for, when,
in course of time, these rules have
produced their effect, and the health
of the patient becomes vigorous, the
physician alters his prescriptions,
permitting that which before he had
prohibited, and vice versa. Nor
ought the patient to feel surprised
at this departure from his former
prescriptions, as these were but for
a certain period ; and though the
physician did not intimate to his pa-
tient, when or how the diet was to
be altered, yet he knew, from the
very nature of his prescriptions, how
lung it would be needful to continue
them in force, and therefore contem-
plated altering them in due time. It
would show but little skill on the
part of the physician, were he at
once to prescribe for a patient who is
barely declared out of danger, those
* Vide Hebrew Review, No. 5.

strengthening broths, meats, and
wines, which, in a more advanced
state of convalescence, become com-
mendable and necessary. A teacher
instructs his pupils gradually : He
commences with such easy subjects
as are adapted to their infant com-
prehension ; and, as their mental
powers ripen, his instruction pro-
gresses to subjects more important
and difficult. Should any one, how-
ever, start the question : "Is the
Deity not sufficiently omnipotent to
adapt all his laws to all ages and to
all men ? " we answer, This question
is as improper as were any one to
ask : " Why has God not created all
men just, wise, virtuous, and exempt
from all failings ? Had he done so,
it would have been in greater accord-
ance with his own perfection." All
such questions presuppose, that the
Deity would be continually altering
and amending the laws of nature,
which his own perfect wisdom has
laid down and approved of; where-
as all philosophers and divines agree,
that the Holy One (blessed be HE !)
is pleased to continue these laws in
unaltered force, and only suspends
or alters them on such particular
occasions as to him seem meet and
proper. Our Rabbies say, in the
Talmud, (treatise Tangnith, folio 7,)
that the words of the law are a me-
dicine wholesome for all parts of the
body, as it is written, " healing to all
his flesh." (Proverbs iv. 22.) But
they do not assert that all these
words are equally salutary to all men
in every age. The succeeding chap-
ter will more fully demonstrate the
truth of what we here assert.

CHAPTER XIV.

IF we reflect on the Divine laws
which have been imparted to man-
kind from the beginning, we find,
that they were altered ; that which
was prohibited at one time being
subsequently permitted, and what
was at first permitted being subse-
quently prohibited. Adam, our first
progenitor, was, according to the
tradition of our Sages, commanded
to observe certain laws, all of which
did not remain in force beyond the
days of Noah. One of these was
the prohibition to eat flesh ; for the

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABB1ES.

331

permission given to Adam was con-
fined to vegetable food, as it is writ-
ten, " Behold, I have given you every
herb, which sows its seed, on the
whole face of the earth ; and every
tree on which is fruit, that sows its
seed ; it shall be yours for food."
(Gen. i. 29.) Subsequently, in the
days of Noah, the permission was
extended, as it is said, "Whatever
moveth and liveth shall be yours for
food ; like grass and herbs have I
given it all to you." (Genesis ix. 3.)
He was, however, prohibited to eat
flesh off the living animal, so that
with increased permission certain
prohibitions were added. To Abra-
ham, the further command of cir-
cumcision was given ; and Moses
received both positive and negative
commands, in great number, which
till then had not been enacted.
Connections which, by the law of
Noah, were not forbidden, were by that
of Moses declared incestuous and
prohibited. According to tradition,
death was the penalty incurred for
the crime of robbery, according to
the law of the Noachidae : Whereas
a secondary punishment, only, is in-
flicted by the law of Moses. We
even find it in Siphri as a comment
on, " Thou shalt not erect unto thy-
self a pillar, which the Lord thy
God hateth : " (Deut. xvi. 22.)
Although such monuments were
acceptable in the days of the patri-
archs, as it is said, " I am the God
of Beth-el, to whom thou hast there
anointed a pillar" (Genesis xxxi.
13 ) Moses, during the giving
of the law on Sinai, erected twelve
such monuments, as it is said, "And
he built an altar at the foot of the
mountain, and erected twelve pil-
lars for the twelve tribes of Israel."
(Exodus xxiv. 4.) This erecting of
pillars was, however, prohibited
in the plains of Moab, forty years
after the events at Sinai. From all
this we see, that, even in matters of
Divine worship, that has been per-
mitted at one time which subse-
quently has been prohibited, and
the reverse : And that it conse-
quently is possible that permissions
and prohibitions of the Divine laws
should, in process of time, become
subject to modifications or altera-
tions. Such was the case with the

laws revealed to Adam, Noah, and
Abraham, until the days of Moses.
Thenceforward and up to the pre-
sent times, the law revealed to the
Israelites through Moses has not
been altered or modified. Many of
our lattet Sages are of opinion that
the laws of Moses cannot by any
possibility be altered, either wholly
or in part. So that, in this respect,
these laws form an exception to the
general principle which we have de-
monstrated. These Sages support
their opinion by the words of the
law, " Thou shalt not add thereto,
or diminish therefrom; " (Deut. xiii.
1 ;) whence they argue that as the
laws of Moses are perfect, as it is
written, "The law of the Lord is
perfect, restoring the soul ; " (Psalm
xix. 8 ;) it is impossible they should
ever undergo any mutation. But
important as this subject is, I am
bound to own that, after candid and
mature reflection, I do not find that
their opinion is supported by suffi-
" cient proofs, or that their reasoning
is conclusive. When we are told,
" Thou shalt not add or diminish,"
it is an admonition that, while the
lawremains in force, we are implicitly
to obey its commands, and in no
instance to permit in ourselves the
slightest variation. It is certain
that the Divine laws are perfect, not
only in their essential principles and
purpose, but likewise in those minor
and temporary observances which
they command : But where is the
proof that the Divine wisdom, which
at one time deemed it proper to en-
act such observances, may not at
another time deem it suitable to
modify and alter the same ; and
that at the very time they were en-
acted, it was not foreseen by the
Deity that in due course he would
alter these observances ? We there-
fore still adhere to the opinion which
on opening the subject we advanced,
namely, that, although it is impossi-
ble that in its basis and essential
principles, and those truths which
have been revealed to us, the Divine
law should undergo any change, it
nevertheless is possible that its minor
and temporal observances, may, if
such should be the pleasure of Di-
vine Wisdom, become altered or mo-
dified.

332

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABB1ES.

CHAPTER XV.

IN making these observations, an
opportunity offers to investigate, by
means of human reasoning, why the
eating of flesh was prohibited to
Adam and permitted to Noah ; and
what can be the probable reason,
that as the prohibition was most
salutary to Adam, the permission
should be most salutary to Noah.
As a clue to this investigation, we
may avail ourselves of the sacrifices
of Cain and Abel. The question is
obvious : What- was the sin of Cain,
that the Lord turned not to his sa-
crifice ? When he brought of the
fruits of the earth an offering unto
the Lord, why was this offering re-
jected ? That his sin consisted in
his not having, like his brother, of-
fered a first-born lamb, is hardly to
be assumed : For Cain was an agri-
culturist ; and the fruits of the earth
having repaid his labours, it was
natural that he should present to the
Lord a part of the blessing bestowed
on him.

It is true, that in our seventh chap-
ter of this division we have said that
dan evinced ingratitude towards the
Lord, in not selecting the most pre-
cious fruits as an offering to his
Creator. Still the inferior quality of
his present does not sufficiently
prove his ingratitude ; for agricul-
ture, nut horticulture, was his occu-
pation. His crime must have been
most srrious to call forth the Divine
reproof : "if thou doest well, wilt
ihou not be accepted ? And if thou
doest not well, sin litth at the
door." (Genesis iv. 7) We thall,
therefore, endeavour more satisfac-
torily to meet the question. Be-
lles' the cruelty of depriving any
animal of life, and the possible habit
of bloodshed, and indifference to
suffering which frequent slaughter-
ing may engender, the flesh of
MI vtral animals, used as nourishment
by man, may exercise a certain influ-
ence on his mural character : As it
is said: "That ye pollute not your
souls with every creeping reptile :
Ye shall not soil yourselves with
them," on cnotoil. (Levit. xi. 41.)
If the word DfiDlDil mrant unclean,
it would require a M ; and as that 1ft-
tcr is omitted, it her:: means " to ren-

der obtuse," or "to brutalize." Al-
though, therefore, some kinds of ani-
mal fleshare wholesome, yeVjto guard
Adam and his immediate descendants
from all its ill effects, animal food was
prohibited to him and them. When
Cain found that Adam abstained
from eating the flesh of animals, and,
like them, fed upon fruits and herbs,
he came to the conclusion, that man
and beast rank alike ; and that the
for.ner has no superiority over the lat-
ter. This first error, confirmed by
the impure inclinations of his heart,
led him to the commission of many
others. When, therefore, he pre-
sented his offering he abstained from
sacrificing an animal, which he did not
think himself warranted to kill, as
according to his opinion he was no-
wise superior to the brute creation.
A sacrifice presented with ideas so
degrading to human dignity, so de-
structive of virtue, morality, and
religion, could not be acceptable to
the Deity. Accordingly the Divine
reproof was addressed to him in the
words of Sacred Writ : " Why art
thou vexed, and why is thy look
down- cast? Verily, if thou doest
well, rPNttf, thou wilt be exalted ;
but if thou doest not well, sin
crouches at the door." The mean-
ing is : It is true that man is com-
posed of animal, as well as intellec-
tual portions. If thou doest well,
so that thy intellectual powers pre-
vail, thou wilt discover thy supe-
riority over all other animals ; but
if thou doest not well, and permit-
test thy animal desi-es to gain the
ascendancy, the fault is thine own,
and thou reducest thyself to a level
with the brute. Cain, however,
persis'ed in his pernicious error :
He hated his brother, because he
was envious of the superior favour
bestowed on a sacrifice of animals,
which, according to his opinion, was
an unjustifiable deed. And his
hatred tempted him to the following
manner of reasoning : "If thou, Abe),
having no right to kill thy fellow-
creature, dost, nevertheless, find
favour in the eyes of the Supreme
Being, when it suits thy purpose to
sacrifice an innocent lamb, why may
not I immolate thee, who art no
better than the animal thou hast
offered?" Accordingly, " Cain arose

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES,

333

against his brother Abel, and slew
him.'' And even after the Divine
denunciation, notwithstanding the
pangs of conscience, and the terrors
of remorse, which haunt the blood-
stained murderer, he still persevered
in his mischievous opinion, that
man and beast are on a level, that
both perish alike, and that the intel-
lectual soul of man gives him no
superiority over the brute creation.
This tenet he promulgated among
his descendants ; and it was general
on earth until the birth of Seth, who
felt and acknowledged his supe-
riority as a man, and whom Holy
Writ declares to have been born in
the shape and likeness of Adam,
that is to say, knowing that he was
in the likeness of the superior intel-
ligences, because, like them, he has
a purpose peculiar to his idiosyn-
crasy. The pernicious error of Cain
still continued prevalent ; and even
at the present day, it is still enter-
tained by many ; for, unfortunately,
we see but too often that avarice,
ambition, and lust of power, cause
the slaughter of thousands, as if the
life of man were of no greater value
than that of beasts. The few, who
with Seth duly appreciate the dignity
of man, resist I he promptings of
their evil passions, and devote
themselves in love and humility to
the purpose assigned to them by
their Creator.

The better judgment of Seth was,
however, not generally received even
by the mass of his own descendants ;
and, with the exception of some few
illustrious and heaven-inspired indi-
viduals, the bulk of mankind ad-
hered to the destructive tenets of
Cain. The consequence was, that
violence and brutality increased
amongst men, \\ho, copying the
ferocious habits of brutes, oppressed
and crushed those who were too
weak to resist or defend themselves,
until at last their evil deeds so com-
pletely debased humanity, that Di-
vine justice immersed the corrupt
race in the waters of the deluge.
Xoab, and his family, (and the ani-
mals to which he had given shelter
in the ark,) were all that Divine
mercy permitted to survive the awful
vibration ; and when they left their
asylum, it pleased an All-merciful God

effectually to guard them from a
relapse into the poisonous opinions
whice had caused the destruction of
the antediluvian world. When Noah,
who was duly impressed with the
superior dignity of man, above all
other animals, in order to express
his gratitude to his Great Preserver,
brought an offering of animals, it
was graciously received : As it is
said, " And the Lord smelled the
pleasant odour;" and immediately
afterwards the permission was
granted to man to kill animals for
his food : As it is said, " Like grass
and herbs have I given all to you."
(Genesis ix. 3.) This permission is,
however, followed by the strict in-
junction, not to shed human blood,
distinctly marking the superiority of
man : For while all the beasts of the
earth are placed at the disposal of
man, in order to supply his wants,
he is strictly commanded to respect
the dignity of his fellow man, be-
cause "man is made in the image of
God,'1 (Genesis ix. 6,) gifted with an
intellectual soul, and with an indivi-
dual purpose . Thus i t appears perfectly
consistent, that what was prohibited
to Adam should be permitted to
Xoah.

When the law was given to the
Israelites, its principles, spirit, and
tendency, were evidently founded on
the great truth, that man is at the
head of the terrestrial creation, and
infinitely superior to mere animals.
There, consequently, could be no
fear that the observers of this law
could ever adopt the opinion of
Cain. Therefore, the flesh of some
animals was permitted as nutritious
and healthy, while that of many
others was prohibited as exercising
a pernicious influence on the quali-
ties of man. Thus it is made the
duty of every man who feeds on
flesh to remember, that as he is su-
perior to brute beasts, (on which
superiority alone his right to feed
on them is founded,) it behoves him
to vindicate the dignity of his spe-
cies, by subjugating those animal
passions and propensities, the in-
dulgence of which sink him to a
level with the subordinate animals.
This investigation likewise proves,
that a certain observance may at one
time be prohibited, and subse-

334 THE DAILY SERVICE IN THE SECOND TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM.

quently permitted, and vice versa ;
and that it, consequently, is possible
that Divine laws may in their minor
and temporal enactments become
subject to alteration, as the wisdom
of the Most High may dictate. Nor
have we. any proof to the contrary

in the words of the law. Our next
care will be to investigate which are
the commands of the law that may
become subject to modification;
which with the help of God we shall
do in this division of our work
(To be continued.)

IV. THE DAILY SERVICE IN THE SECOND TEMPLE AT
JERUSALEM.

FROM THE

"11 D, BY R. 8ALOM COHEN.

Extracted from the tD'Mjm ma 3, an Hebrew periodical, published at
Vienna, for 5581, (1821,) p. 38.
(Continued from page 316.)

THE MORNING SERVICE.

AT break of dawn, as soon as ob-
jects could be distinguished at a cer-
tain distance,* the captain of the
temple caused one of his officers to
proclaim aloud, "Priests, come to
your service ! Levites, prepare for
your duties ! Israelites, occupy your
station!" Every man, thus sum-
moned, instantly went to his appoint-
ed place, and the service of the
morning commenced in the follow-
ing order : —

The Priests wash their hands and
feet.

A Priest enters the temple with
profound veneration ; goes into the
holy, 1 1 takes the broom which lay
in a golden dish, and sweeps toge-
ther the ashes on the altar from the
censer which had been placed there
on the preceding evening. He then
performs his prayers, and, gathering
the ashes, he withdraws backwards,
in order not to turn his back on the
Most Holy, and leaves the interior
of the temple.

Another Priest brings two logs of
wood, and places them on the burn-
ing pile on the great altar of burnt-
offerings.

Another Priest has, in the interim,

* As it was unlawful to immolate the
morning sacrifice before day -break, a " Cap-
tain of the time " was specially appointed,
who carefulty watched the coming dawn.
For this purpose he caused some Priests to
mount the barbican of the temple, who, as
soon as they could recognise the priestly
city of Hebron, (which lay high on a moun-
tain to the east of Jerusalem,) called out,
" The morning is so light that we can see
Hebron."

I! Vide Hebrew Review, page 172.

proceeded to the receptacle for lambs,
(where those intended for sacrifices
were lcePt ^our days before they were
offered>) and brings a yearling lamb,
bound, to the slaughtering-place at
the northern side of the altar, where
all burnt-offerings, as the most holy
sacrifices, were slaughtered ; (the
sacrifices of a lower degree could be
killed in any part of the court ;) the
' ' Station-men " then laid their hands
on the lamb; a Priest approaches,
turns its head to the west of the
temple, and slaughters it. Another
Priest approaches with a basin, and
receives the blood, which he con-
stantly stirs, in order that it may
not coagulate, but may, at the pro-
per time, be fit for sprinkling.

After the lamb had been sacri-
ficed, the Priests prepared to offer
incense. The ingredients and burn-
ing coals were brought in costly ves-
sels, and placed ready at hand The
Priests, who by lot had been appoint-
ed to perform the sacred office, enter
the temple and the Holy. During
their procession, a little bell is rung
in the outer court, as a signal to the
people there assembled, who com-
mence their prayers. A Priest takes
the censer from the altar, and goes
out of the temple backwards. As
soon as he enters the court, another
Priest takes the blood of the lamb,
— which till then had been continual-
ly stirred, — and begins to sprinkle.
He commences at the foot of the
altar at the east, goes to the north,
then to the west; and, having closed
his round at the south, pours the
remainder of the blood into a gutter
placed at the foot of the altar.

Another Priest next extinguishes

THE DAILY SERVICE IN THE SECOND TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM.

335

five out of the seven lights of the gold-
en candlestick in the Holy. Another
enters, places the censer with burn-
ing coals on the altar of incense,
performs his prayer, bows, and with-
draws. The Priest who is appointed
to offer the incense then enters, takes
the censer from the altar, and gives
it to the Priest who had extinguished
the five lamps. He holds it while
the former puts the incense on the
coals ; then takes the censer, and
offers the incense and his own prayers
with profound devotion. As soon as
he has concluded, he bows and with-
draws. The Priest who had previously
extinguished five of the lamps, now
likewise puts out the remaining two,
and is the last who leaves the Holy.

The lamb which has been sacri-
ficed is then flayed, the entrails are
taken out and washed, and the car-
case cut up. The former are placed
in a dish, the latter on a marble slab,
and both are salted. The meat-offer-
ing is next prepared. This consisted
of a certain quantity of the finest
flour, mixed with a measure of che
best oil, and strewed with incense.
The drink-offering is then got ready,
consisting of a certain measure of
wine, which is brought out in a
splendid golden flagon. All this was
done in the interval between day-
break and sun-rise.

When the sun has risen, the sacri-
fices are carried to the altar of burnt-
offerings by nine Priests, each of
whom bears the piece apportioned
to him by lot. These Priests form a
regular procession, and exhibit the
various offerings, by holding them
up in sight of the assembled people,
who then pronounce the Kenath
Schmang.* The sacrifices are then
received by other Priests, and placed
on the burning pile, where they are
consumed. A Priest then ascends
to the altar, takes the meat-offering,
(which has already been described,)
strews it with salt and incense, takes
a handful thereof, and throws it into
the flames, retaining the rest as his
perquisite. He is succeeded by ano-
ther Priest, with the twelve cakes of

the High Priest, on which he strews
salt, and throws them in the fire.
Lastly, a Priest approaches with the
drink-offering of wine in a golden
flagon. He mounts the altar, and
pours the wine into a silver ewer,
through a hole, in the bottom of
which it runs down the foot of the
altar into the brook Kedron.

Immediately afterwards, twelve
Levites, accompanied by instrumental
music, chant the psalm appropriated
to the service of the day, and two
Priests blow the silver trumpets.

This is followed by the priestly
benediction, which, in the second
temple, was preceded and followed
by short prayers. This concluded
the regular morning-service. If any
additional public or private sacrifices
were offered, it was done immedi-
ately after the regular morning ser-
vice was closed.

EVENING SERVICE.

AT three o'clock in the afternoon,
another yearling lamb was sacrificed,
under observance of the same order
and ceremonies as have already been
described. Meat-offerings, drink-
offerings, and incense, accompanied
this sacrifice, similar to those which
were brought with the morning ser-
vice.

The seven lamps in the golden
candlestick were then lighted, and
burnt till morning.

The afternoon sacrifice was kept
burning, on a moderate fire, through-
out the whole night. At sun-set, ihe
A>rj'a/A-Sc#ffian£ was again pronounc-
ed, and the evening prayers read.

The Levites cleansed the utensih,
and placed every thing in due order
for the sen-ice of the next day. They,
together with the Priests and " Sta-
tion-men," awaited the arrival of
their successors. Thus the daily
service was continued without inter-
ruption, even on the Sabbath and
high holy days ; on which occasions,
however, additional offerings and
ceremonies took place.

(To be continued.)
* Vide Hebrew Review, page 13.

336

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

V. ESSAY ON THE ANCIENT

FROM THE £

A HISTORY of the schools of the
ancient Hebrews can only be offered
to our readers in fragments and de-
tached portions, as the sources from
whence our information is derived
are not only very scanty, but for-
sake us when most we need their
aid. We shall, however, submit
such traditions as have preserved
among our people a faint trace of
their most ancient schools

According to the pious legends of
the Rabbies, the first schools are of
a date anterior to the deluge. In
these, both religion and the sciences
were taught. At the head of these
schools were Adam, Enoch, and
Noah. Subsequently, Melchi-zedek
became the founder of a school in
Kiriath-Sepher, " the city of books."
Abraham is said to have been the
disciple of Eber. and promulgated
the learning of his tutor among the
Chaldeans and Egyptians, who are
said to be indebted to him for their
knowledge of arithmetic and astro-
nomy,—sciences in which the latter
were subsequently more fully in-
structed by his grandson Jacob. The
Targum, or Paraphrase of Onkelos,
renders the words, "And Jacob was
CDfl tyM, a perfect man, who dwelt
in tents ;" (Gen. xxv. 27 ;) by, " Ja.
cob was a perfect man, who studied
in the schools." In these schools,
Shem and Eber, according to the
Rabbies, were the principal tutors.

We will here collect such details
respecting these tutors as are pre-
served in the Talmud and the Me-
drashim. However imperfect and
even improbable, they nevertheless
afford the only gleams of light which
penetrate the obscurity of remotest

SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.
FOR 5582. (1822.)

antiquity, and which, though flitting
and uncertain, still, in some decree,
illumine the earliest annals of human
civilization.

SHEM.

NINETY-EIGHT years before the
deluge, this son of Noah was born.
His father instructed him in the es-
sential principles of religion, which
he again promulgated among his
descendants and pupils. For this
purpose he erected a school on
Mount Tabor.

According to the Rabbinical le-
gends, Shem is identical with Mel-
chi-zedek. Abraham was one of his
disciples. The ceremonies which he
observed at his sacrifices had been
communicated to him by his tutor ;
who also taught jurisprudence and
astronomy in his academy. Metho-
dius considers him as the inventor
of astrology.* Nay, he is even by
some held up as the first of mon-
archs and founders of cities. It is
said that Ceuta in Africa, Salerno ||
in Italy, and Salem in India, were
built by him.

* Scipio Sgambati in his work entitled,
"Archivorum feteris Testament!, sen de
Scriptoribus Hebruicis," asserts that Shem
was the author of a treatise on medicine,
of which a manuscript in Hebrew was pre-
served in the library of the then (1600)
Elector of Bavaria.

II The singular aad improbable idea that
Shem is the founder of Salemo has, how-
ever, been adopted in the religious worship
of that city. In a missal of the church at
Salerno, the following stauza is inserted, to
be sung on certain feast-days : —

" O Salernum, civitas nobilis,

Quam fundavit Sem, Noefertilis,"

(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A LEARNED Correspondent, whose signature is J. C., requests us to fur-

i him with some biographical account of R. Joseph Albo, the author of

bepher Ikkanm. We confess our acquaintance with this great man's life is

most scanty. All that we know of him is, that he was born at Soria, resided

at baragossa, and was present at a great theological conference held with

iwhop Hieronymus in the year 1412. Should any of our readers be able

mush us with a more detailed account, we shall feel obliged to them.

LONDON :-Printed by Jamea Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Squarc.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

TWENTY-EIGHTH DAY OF SHEBAT, 5595.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1835.

No. -2-2.

I. ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE
AND BEARING OF NATIONS, ARISING FROM MORAL

CAUSES.

(Concluded from page 326 J

FOR illustrating the proposition
we had undertaken to discuss, it
was necessary to trace the Israelites
throughout their history. This has
been done, however, to no greater
extent than was requisite for deve-
loping the subject ; and we shall
pursue the same course by taking an
equally rapid view of that part of
their history which remains to be
noticed.

Though the captivity may be said
to have terminated at the end of the
seventy years foretold by Jeremiah,
yet, independence did not succeed to
it ; on the contrary, except during
the period of the Maccabees, the
nation from the time of the destruc-
tion of the first temple down to the
present period has always been un-
der foreign sway.

If the prediction of Jacob — " The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto
him shall the gathering of the people
be," is to be understood as referring
to a temporal authority : That autho-
rity ceased with Zedekiah, the last
king of the house of Judah, and even
he was tributary to the king of Ba-
bylon. If the Maccabees be cited as
instances of native princes having
reigned over the Israelites since Ze-
dekiah's time, this would not alter
the case, for the Maccabees were
of the tribe of Levi and not of
Judah.

We consider that the prediction
just quoted alludes to the spiritual
authority contained in the Divine
laws ; in support of which opinion
may be quoted Psalm Ix. 6, 7 : "God
hath spoken in his holiness ; I will

rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and
mete out the valley'of Succoth. Gilead
is mine, and Manasseh is mine ;
Ephraim also is the strength of mine
head ; and Judah is my lawgiver."
And existing circumstances do in a
most remarkable manner confirm
this view of it. Though the tribes
of Judah and Benjamin are under-
stood to constitute the whole body
of the Israelites of the present day,
it would be difficult to point out in-
dividuals among them as belonging
certainly to the tribe of Benjamin,
whilst there exists no doubt in the
minds of the Israelites themselves as
to those that belong to the tribe of
Judah. And as respects the other
ten tribes, there is reason for be-
lieving that many descendants of
theirs are still among us ; for we find
that " Asa gathered all Judah and
Benjamin, and the strangers with
them out of Ephraim and Manasseh,
and out of Simeon ; for they fell to
him out of Israel in abundance,
when they saw that the Lord his
God was with him." And the
descendants of these were not in-
volved in the fate of their brethren
who were subsequently taken cap-
tives by the Assyrian king and dis-
tributed in the cities of the Medes ;
but they participated in the fate
of the tribes of Judah and Benja-
min, who were afterwards taken to
Babylon and its provinces. Thus,
there may be among the body of
Israelites of the present day several
individuals of all the other eleven
tribes, yet so merged in the predo-
minating numbers of the tribe of
Judah, that when allusion is now
made to the Jews generally, that

2 x

338 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

tribe alone presents itself to our
minds.

Notwithstanding the vicissitudes
the nation has undergone, the Divine
laws, which we contend is the autho-
rity alluded to under its proper sym-
bol, the Sceptre, have been pre-
served, and are at this day in the
keeping of the Israelites, by whom,
as we have shown, is to be under-
stood the tribe of Judah principally ;
confirming the prediction that a law-
giver of that tribe should never be
wanting. Nor do we understand
the expression " until Shiloh come,"
as including that then the sceptre
should depart, but that it rather
bears the construction, the Divine
laws shall be preserved in the tribe
of Judah until that remote period
when it is said the beneficent pur-
poses of the Deity towards the whole
human race will be fully accom-
plished ; and so far from the sceptre
then departing from Judah, we have
the authority of the Scriptures for
believing the Divine laws are even
then to be promulgated by these his
servants.* Those laws, the opera-
tion of which, as stated in the early
part of our subject, are calculated
to impress the most noble bearing
and beneficent expression of coun-
tenance on their observers, will be
found, as we think we can show, to
have exerted their influence in pro-
ducing likewise those traits of an
unfavourable description which some,
from prevailing prejudices, rather
than from their own experience, have
been too ready to assign as the cha-
racteristics of many of the Israelites
of the present day ; supporting in a
most extraordinary way the proposi-
tion we have laid down, that the
laws, manners, and customs of a
people exert a great influence on
their external appearance.

From the understood nature of
the expression of countenance to
which we have just alluded, it will
at first view appear a little extraordi-
nary to assert that the Divine laws
should operate to produce two such
very opposite effects ; and our read-
ers, we imagine, will not be a little
curious to learn how this apparently

* Isaiah xi. 1, 5, 10; Ixi. 6; Ixii. 8,9:
Zecb. viii. 23.

incongruous doctrine can be recon-
ciled ; but a little patience on their
part may satisfy them of the possi-
bility of solving their doubts upon
it : For this purpose we must trace
the Israelites through the weal and
the woe of their destiny. It may
then be perceived that the good
traits they have been able to pre-
serve in their character to the pre-
sent time, is owing to their possess-
ing the Divine laws, their love of
them, their acknowledgment of
their excellence, and their remarka-
ble attachment to their religion. The
almost miraculous preservation of
this law may be truly considered the
means by which the Deity fulfils his
promise to them in the words,
" When thou passest through the
waters I will be with thee ; and
through the rivers, they shall not
overflow thee : When thou walkest
through the fire, thou shalt not be
burnt ; neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee." (Isaiah xliii. 2.)

In order that our readers may
more clearly comprehend the argu-
ments we are urging, we must refer
them again to the vast difference
between human and Divine laws.
The first are generally made to meet
the local circumstances and interests
of a certain people and country,
embracing, however, some laws that
are common to all civilized nations,
and received by them as axioms in
legislation ; such, for jnstan?e, as
relate to the protection of life and
property, and others to which it is
unnecessary to allude. If you com-
mit murder, you shall be put to death.
If you rob, you shall undergo impri-
sonment, receive stripes, or be ba-
nished, &c. Here the fear of corpo-
real punishment is made the instru-
ment for deterring man from the
commission of crimes.

Now, not only are the same
crimes denounced by the Divine
laws, but, after undergoing the pe-
nalty to be inflicted by his fellow-
man for infringing the laws of the
society to which he belongs, the cul-
prit is still in the predicament of
having offended a much higher
power, for he has yet to make his
peace with his God. If death has
been the penalty incurred, and the
criminal has been subjected to it, he

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL

339

cannot suffer it again here ; it is clear,
therefore, that he has to appear before
the awful tribunal of his Maker in an-
other life, to be there judged by Him.

Besides, there are many commands
and precepts in the Divine laws
which are not found in human laws ;
because, were they even introduced
there they could never reach the
party who infringes them. We shall
instance a few of such commands, to
show the utter impracticability of
human laws being framed to any
purpose in similar cases.

" Thou shalt not hate thy brother
in thy heart. Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself." " Thou shalt
love the stranger that dwelleth with
you as thyself." " And if thy bro-
ther be waxen poor and fallen into
decay with thee ; then thou shalt
relieve him ; yea, though he be a
stranger, or a sojourner, that he may
live _with thee." " If thou meet
thine enemy's ox or his ass going
astray, thou shalt surely bring it
back to him again." " If thou seest
the ass of him that hateth thee lying
under his burthen, and wouldst for-
bear to help him, thou shalt surely
help with him." The punishment
for not observing these and similar
commands, is reserved by the Sove-
reign of the universe to himself,
plainly enough intimating that he
has not delegated his authority to
any one to search the human heart,
or to legislate on points of vital im-
portance toward promoting that love
of peace, and of beneficent feelings
among mankind, which are the main
props for sustaining the whole frame
of human society, on those principles
which alone can render the human
race the perfect and happy beings it
was doubtless the beneficent purpose
of their Creator they should be when
he made man.

Into whatever country they may
have been thrown or wandered —
whatever might be the variety and
defects of the laws of those coun-
tries — however imperfect their
moral codes, and absurd or cruel
their religious doctrines and rites,
the Israelites were guarded always
against their evil effects by the
possession of their perfect law on
every one of those points. " It is
not hidden from thee, neither is it

afar off. It is not in heaven, that
thou shouldst say, Who shall go up
for us to heaven, and bring it unto
us, that we may hear and do it ?
Neither is it beyond the sea, that
thou shouldst say, Who shall go
over the sea for us, and bring it
untc us, that we may hear it and
do it ? But the word is very nigh
unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy
heart, that thou mayest do it."
(Deut. xxx. 11-14.)

To their own law in every country
it has always been their bounden
duty to pay implicit obedience — it is
more dreadful for them to offend
their God than man. And our
readers must recollect that so far
from their dispersion and sufferings
having caused them to lay by that
law, or to consider its statutes a dead
letter, they have become more and
more attached to it, and would be
found constantly refusing obedience
to the laws of any country in which
they might be dwelling, if such
laws were opposed to those entrusted
by the Deity to their keeping.

Our readers of other religious
creeds would be struck with the
solemn and affecting scene, presented
in the house of prayer of the Is-
raelites, on that Sabbath when the
portion of the Pentateuch is read,
narrating the delivering of the law
at Mount Sinai. On the reader of
the service coming to the twentieth
chapter of Exodus, containing the
Ten Commandments, his modula-
tion of that species of recitative in
which the law is delivered, assumes
a more solemn and impressive style
than usual ; the whole congregation
rise simultaneously, and in death-
like silence listen to the sacred in-
junctions.

At such a moment, it is impossible
for a true Israelite to keep his heart
from throbbing violently and his
feelings from rising almost to suffo-
cation. It brings to his mind the
awful and momentous period of his
history, when these same command-
ments were delivered to the highly-
favoured ancestors of his nation —
when a whole people (entering into a
mutual compact with their God) pro-
mise to serve him faithfully, and He
vouchsafing to declare that they
shall be his peculiar people, they seem

2 x -'

340 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEARING

again to stand before Him as at
Sinai, and to hear again his dread but
beneficent commands. The people
now hearing those commands re-
peated to them are the descendants
of the same people who first re-
ceived them, and of those who, for
thousands of years since, have heard
them delivered to them every year.
Do we require any thing more to
explain how this law came to be so
deeply engraven on their hearts,
and its precepts to be constantly
present to their minds ? Having
satisfactorily ascertained this, we
proceed to its application to our
subject.

The sense of their dependence on
the will of other nations is affect-
ingly exhibited in Nehemiah's la-
ment. " Behold," he says, " we are
servants this day, and for the land
that thou gavest unto our fathers to
eat the fruit thereof and the good
thereof, Behold, we are servants in
it, and it yieldeth much increase
unto the kings whom thou hast set
over us because of our sins ; also
they have dominion over our bodies,
and over our cattle, at their pleasure,
and we are in great distress."

The struggles, however, that were
then taking place between theGreeks
and Persians, in which the latter
suffered dreadfully, must have occa-
sioned the rigour of the Persian
Government over the Israelites to
be relaxed, especially after the vic-
tory obtained at Cnidos, by Conon
the Athenian general, when, by the
treaty entered into with the Grecian
States, it became of importance to
Persia to secure the fidelity of the
Israelites, whose city, Jerusalem,
was now in a measure a frontier
town between the Grecian States
and the Persian Empire : And the
Jews subsequently evinced their
sense of the lenient treatment which
they experienced, and the confidence
placed in them, by faithfully adhering
to the Persian monarchy and re-
fusing to join, Alexander the ^Great
in his attack upon it.

In the enjoyment of peace them-
selves, whilst the struggle for empire
was carrying on around them, they
kept increasing in numbers and opu-
lence ; for, by means of their bre-
thren settled in the cities and pro-

vinces of Babylon, and_"of those that
had removed to Egypt, together
with the favourable position of their
country, they must have carried on
an extensive and lucrative com-
merce, as we know of no other
means by which they could have
attained to that wealth and prospe-
rity they very soon after exhibited.

We shall advert here to a circum-
stance of great importance, which,
whilst it most probably contributed
to preserve the nation from ever
after abandoning the worship of the
true God, and served to bind them
closer together, it may likewise have
produced the surely unexpected and
undesirable effect of subsequently
engendering feelings that were not
only irreconcilable with the tenets
of their religion, but diametrically
opposed to its beneficent precepts.

The dread of falling again into
idolatry, added to the mortifications
and sufferings they had experienced
since the loss of their independence,
occasioned the rulers and heads of
the nation to exact a more rigid ob-
servance of the ordinances of the
law than had ever been done before,
and even to add to it many observ-
ances as fences to guard and secure it.

Their disgust at every other reli-
gion grew the stronger, the more
satisfied they became of the purity
and excellence of their own. This
induced in them a rather contemptu--
ous feeling towards persons and na-
tions not so well instructed on that
point as themselves, and it undoubt-
edly first gave rise to that dislike
and hatred they themselves .ex-
perienced afterwards from other na-
tions. The feeling of contempt on
their parts had its origin in that
pride of the human heart so fre-
quently and energetically denounced
in their law and other sacred writ-
ings : Had they, on the contrary,
followed the beneficent spirit of that
law, and fully understood the tend-
ency of their other writings, they
would have deemed it their duty to
behold with commiseration, instead
of pride and contempt, the less-
instructed children of the same Al-
mighty Father of all. Their pro-
phets had told them, that He looked
with pity on his benighted creatures ;
and surely his own people ought not

OK NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

241

to have despised what he loved. To
this fatal fault, we apprehend, many
of their subsequent sufferings may
be traced.

Alexander the Great, having over-
thrown the Persian monarchy, ap-
pears to have entertained a great
regard for the Jews ; doubtless, be-
cause his sound discrimination and
philosophical education under Aris-
totle enabled him at once to per-
ceive and appreciate the superior
purity and truth of the Jewish reli-
gion over the Grecian mythology,
but which he dared not insist upon
his people's adopting.

The Jews from this period begin
to grow into notice and importance
in the history of the times, and their
constant and intimate intercourse
with Grecians, Persians, and even
Indians tinged them with the re-
spective systems of philosophy of
those people, and led them to adopt
many of their manners and customs,
without, however, altering their no-
tions on religious points : Those
demonstrations of a predeliction to
imitate other nations laid the foun-
dation for great dissensions after-
wards among the Jews themselves,
for the more rigid observers of the
law, taking the alarm, dreaded, and
most probably with reason then,
that it would lead at last to their
people embracing the worship of the
Greeks, which, we must recollect,
was free from those cruel rites that
of themselves would have proved a
sufficient barrier against their being
adopted by the Israelite, had they
formed part of the Grecian religion.
The means adopted, however, for
preventing the apprehended result,
may have been injudicious and, pro-
bably, even led to some unhappy
effects. The party who dreaded the
subversion of their religion may
have considered it proper to assume
an austere exterior — to make an open
and ostentatious display of devotion —
and to practise the minutest observ-
ances of their religion ; — but they
may have neglected, at the same
time, to observe and practise those
great and more important commands
of the law, enforcing peace and good-
will among all mankind, and more
especially towards their own bre-
thren. It may have escaped them,

that pride of heart \vas denounced,
and that lip-service was an abomina-
tion to their God. Need we quote
the innumerable passages in the
Sacred Writings themselves that
too plainly indicate what were the
sins of our forefathers, or, shall we
cast a veil over them ? We fear that
in too many cases the ceremonials
were more observed than those great
precepts of our religion, through
the practice of which alone could
the purposes of the Deity be accom-
plished by Israelites as his instru-
ments ; for, to the truly devout, and,
at the same time, strict observers of
all the forms, rites, and ceremonies
of our holy religion, it must be
quite evident that if, as they cannot
deny, we are appointed to be a king-
dom of priests to the Most High,
our office cannot be taken to consist
in merely performing the ceremo-
nials of our religion, but does un-
doubtedly imply a strict observance
of all its beneficent statutes. The
history of the Israelites of those
times shows too clearly, that, though
they did not worship idols, their
conduct in other respects was un-
happily calculated to bring a re-
proach on their religion ; so dread-
fully are we poor mortals apt to err
and mistake our path !

For this, it is to be presumed,
were our forefathers punished ; for
had they not sinned, we are bound
to believe, our God would not have
subjected them to so many miseries
they then experienced, nor have
subsequently exposed them to the
merciless cruelties of their oppres-
sors.

Let us for a moment consider
what might have been the effect if,
even at the time of the Maccabees,
the nation, firm in their determina-
tion to die or to become free, but,
considering that both life and free-
dom were desirable only as each
might be put to good and worthy
purposes, had looked closely into
their religion, and, perceiving the
high purposes for which they had
had been selected by the Deity,
instead of disdaining other na-
tions, they had discovered, on
the contrary, that it was their
bounden duty to endeavour by mild
means, sound reasonings, and above

342 ON THE CHARACTERISTIC TRAITS IN THE COUNTENANCE AND BEAU ING

all, by a uniform and consistent
practice of the beneficent precepts of
the religion they professed so much
to admire, to bring the uninstructed
to understand its tendency, and the
sublime truths it involves ? Might
it not be presumed, that, acting thus
in conformity with their mission,
they would have experienced the
favour and support of their God,
and attaining again the important
and imposing position they once
held among the nations, they would
have influenced greatly and benefici-
ally the destinies of the rest of man-
kind, not by the force of arms, but
by means more appropriate to the
office to which they had been ap-
pointed — meekness — reason — and
goodness ?

Unhappily that course was not
adopted towards strangers ; and the
animosities of the several parties
that had arisen among the Jews
themselves, reached so great a
height, that crimes too horrible to
relate were committed, and in the
very temple itself. We must not
condemn the whole nation for this
conduct : The actors in those scenes
were comparatively few in number ;
the people, however, as in all simi-
lar cases, were the greatest suf-
ferers.

At the destruction of the second
temple, and subsequently, in the
several countries to which they were
dragged as slaves, as well as in those
where they had been settled long
before the fall of their country, the
people suffered dreadfully from the
hatred that had been encouraged
against them, arising, most probably,
from the causes already assigned,
and from the obstinate, if not cou-
rageous, resistance they had offered
to the Romans. Notwithstanding
the immense numbers that had been
cruelly put to death, they are not
long after found in a comparatively
flourishing state ; and repeatedly un-
dergoing several changes in their con-
dition and fortunes, we find they
had, at length, attained to such de-
gree of prosperity and consideration,
all over the world, as to render that
period in their history deserving of
being denominated their "golden
age." — "Every where they are seen
not only pursuing unmolested their

lucrative and enterprising traffic ;
not merely merchants of splendour
and opulence, but suddenly admi-
nistering the finances of Christian
and Mahomedan kingdoms ; and
travelling as ambassadors between
mighty Sovereigns." — That prosper-
ous state was of different duration in
different parts of the world ; but it
was too soon succeeded everywhere
by an age, which, for its contrast to
that we have just noticed, might
justly be called their " iron a^e," of
much longer duration than the hap-
pier era.

It would lead us too far to enter
into the various causes that have
been assigned for the dreadful
change the Jews underwent in their
condition : The details are to be
found written in their blood, in the
histories of the several countries
they inhabited. That they had
faults, we may confess ; but surely
no one at this day will stand up and
say they were such as to merit the
cruelties and oppressions practised
upon them for ages. — Willingly
would we have passed over this me-
lancholy portion of their history,
were it not that it is too much con-
nected with those traits in their
countenance and bearing which are
the immediate purport of our writ-
ing.

The great change in the aspect of
the world, produced by the over-
throw of the Roman Empire by the
northern hordes, had as much effect
on the fortunes of the Jewish people
ultimately as on any other nation.
The great Barons and Chiefs became
the sole lords of all the lands ;
whilst the inhabitants of the coun-
tries they had conquered were made
slaves or serfs, Though we have
no evidence that the Jews generally
were reduced to the same abject
state, owing probably to their not
being found settled on the lands,
they in the end came to suffer more
than others from the proud and bar-
barous conquerors. For having in
progress of time lent them large sums
of money on mortgage upon their
estates, the powerful debtors, unable
or unwilling otherwise to settle the
claims against them, found the easy
way of discharging them by pillag-
ing the Jews of what other property

OF NATIONS ARISING FROM MORAL CAUSES.

343

they had, massacring and banish-
ing them from their territories.

The Jews had been amply indem-
nified for not being allowed to hold
lands themselves by following com-
merce, applying themselves to the
study of the sciences and other
learning, (of which they appeared at
one time to be the exclusive possess-
ors in Europe,) practising medicine,
&c., all which could not fail to dis-
tinguish them favourably in the so-
cial system ; and during that period
we cannot certainly imagine them
marked by an ignoble mien or car-
riage : But, from whatever causes it
arose, those resources for supporting
the dignity of their nature were ra-
pidly taken from them. — Oppression
. and cruelties of every kind were
practised against them, whilst re-
strictions upon their industry and
talents were multiplied everywhere to
such a degree as to drive the great-
er number to the most miserable
shifts to maintain themselves and
their families. Contempt and hatred
were now superadded to the long
list of cruelties and injustice that
had been heaped upon them. And
we are now arrived at that period in
their history when the defects so
much complained of, as being their
characteristic traits, may be fairly
traced to the ill treatment and worse
laws which were in force against
them, in almost every country where
the unfortunates were sojourners.
Would it be fair under such circum-
stances to judge the moral conduct
and appearance of a people ? Would
not the humane and candid ascribe
the defe«ts complained of to the
parties who were the real causes of
them ; and, regretting that a single
instance of those enactments of a
barbarous age should still be found
in operation anywhere against this
interesting people, would uot only
desire, but join heartily, to have
them abolished, and, if possible, to
obliterate the recollection that they
ever existed ?

But if there should be any, who,
still deaf to the cries of humanity,
wish to see perpetuated the oppres-
sions, disabilities, and unmerited
opprobrium under which the Israel-
ites have so long groaned ; and see-
ing the shifts to which many of

them are unfortunately apt to resort
for acquiring a morsel of bread for
their starving families ; and whilst
practising mean, unworthy, and
sometimes dishonest methods for
procuring the bitter morsel, they are
observed to have a downcast look
and crouching carriage; let not such
ungenerous persons triumphantly
exclaim, " See what a low and mean
countenance is here, the marks of
conscious guilt that cannot look you
in the face ! " — Let such know that
the conscience of the Israelite ac-
quits him, in a great measure, to-
wards his oppressor ; but he is at
that moment accusing himself of
acting contrary to his law — that law
which is graven on his heart, and is
ever present to his mind, is occasion-
ing his breast to be tortured at
being driven to commit actions so
unworthy of a professor of a religion
that teaches far better things. The
considerate and humane man of
every persuasion will imagine what
are the feelings of a being reared
from his infancy in such a code of
moral and religious laws as those of
the Israelites, whilst, acting from
dire necessity in a manner so con-
trary to the dictates of his own con-
science, (for he can never divest him-
self of a sense of its impropriety, and
putting on a reckless bearing, set all
laws human and Divine at defiance,)
he degrades himself and brings a re-
proach on the religion for which he
would be ready to lay down his life.
Xo infliction on the body by the rack
can equal that produced by this com-
pulsory resort to unworthy conduct,
on the mind of its victim.

An Israelite of the lowest cast has
naturally an aspiration after the most
noble attainments of his nature. — It
cannot be otherwise when the mean-
est among them knows, that it is for-
tune only that places him below the
wealthiest and proudest of his fellow-
men — In the eye of his God he
knows he is equal to any, for he has
a portion in the high and noble des-
tiny of his people. How bitter, then,
must be his feelings when thus slmt
out from exercising the noblest at-
tributes of his nature, and which his
very religion teaches him it behoves
him above all other people to culti.
vate, cherish, and practise! It proves

344

THE MISHNA.

how wonderfully his law preserves
him, among so many trials, from
the commission of any great crimes,
and from being worse than he is.

But whilst we offer this excuse
for him we regret likewise, that the
love of his law, and his desire to
serve his God, do not always, and
in every case, and under every cir-
cumstance fortify him against those
assaults on his virtue.

The past cannot be recalled — The
present is ours; — and the future may
be so likewise, in some measure,
through our exertions and the pow-
erful interposition of the Almighty.
Oppressions and degradations have
greatly diminished everywhere. In
this country they may be said to
have nearly become extinct altoge-
ther ; and we trust what remains of
them may soon be obliterated from

the code of every nation : — But if
they should not, — or if they should
ever again become as great and nu-
merous as they were, unfortunately,
at former periods, we raise our
voices to implore, to supplicate our
people to press the precepts of their
religion close to their hearts ; — to let
nothing induce them to bring a re-
proach upon it by acting coutrary to
the commands of their God ; — to die
rather than infringe any single one
of the great principles it inculcates. —
Let them abstain from all evil, — go-
vern their passions, and let benevo-
lence towards the whole human race
reign supreme in their breasts.

Let them do all these and rely
upon their God, and they will find,
that " His hand is not shortened
that he cannot help them when they
call upon Him." A. A. L.

II. THE MISHNA

rODO, Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS.

lb P\ COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRT8 WESSELY.

(Continued from page 328.)

SHAMMAI said, " Make thy law a settled
receive every man cheerfully." (I.xv.)
COMMENTARY. Make thy law a set-
tled appointment — Our teacher uses
yip to denote a something which is
constant and settled ; meaning to
say," Let the law be thy constant and
settled occupation." His intention
is by no means to exclude those
avocations which are altogether un-
connected with the study of the law ;
but, in recommending us to keep
the law, its commandments, and
doctrines constantly present to our
minds, he intimates that even our
every-day pursuits will become puri-
fied, and will contribute to strengthen
us in the observance of the law.
For as a man putting up at an inn
does not in that temporary dwelling
find those domestic comforts which
his own home affords, and there-
fore shortens his stay as much as
possible, in order to return with a
new zest to his own fire-side ; so
likewise man, keeping constantly
before his eyes the law of his God
and its study, will, even while he is
performing his necessary calling,
be longing for the hour of contem-

appointment ; say little and do much ; and

plation, and will discharge his social
duties honestly and scrupulously,
in order that his hours of reflection
may not be interrupted by self-
reproach. Accordingly Holy Writ
tells us, "And these words which I
to-day command thee shall be on
thy heart ;" (Deut. ;) that is

to say, The first place in thy heart
and mind is due to the law of thy
Creator : All thy other occupations
are but accessory to that which is de-
signed to be constantly before thine
eyes.

Say (but) little and do much — Hav-
ing told us what ought to be our
principal pursuit, our instructer
follows it up, by giving us a most
salutary counsel. Jt is generally the
case that when men constantly and
intensely reflect on a particular sub-
ject, it is apt entirely to engross
their conversation ; and while men
are thinking and talking, they too
often neglect to perform. Against
this abuse our teacher cautions us,
in these few but appropriate words :
" Say little and do much." Say

THE MISHXA.

345

little : Do not on every occasion,
proper or improper, in season or out
of season, show off thy acquaint-
ance with and intense study of the
law, lest thou be justly accused of
vain-glory and of hypocrisy. But
do much. Teach by example, more
than by precept. Obey the law,
perform its commandments, and
practise the virtues it enjoins, si-
lently, without calling the attention
of men to thy piety and worth ; and
when the season for exertion ar-
rives, let thy deeds ever exceed thy
words.

Receive every man cheerfully — Hav-
ing thus impressed upon our mind,
that the^ law of God is to be our
constant* occupation ; and having
cautioned us against permitting
words to supersede deeds in our
performance of the duties it enjoins;
our teacher proceeds to warn us
against another error incidental to
human nature. It is but too often
the case, that men whose minds are
fixed on any important subject of
meditation, grow careless to what
surrounds them. Absorbed by the
intensity of their own reflections,
they cannot brook interruption, and
consider every attempt to engage

their attention as an intrusion which
they repel either by word or look.
Such, however, must not be the
case with him whose meditations
are fixed on God's holy law : He
must recollect, that it is not for
himself alone that his mind is
thus occupied ; that the princi-
pal intention for his studying the
law and obeying its command-
ments is, that he may fairly acquit
himself of his duties towards
his fellow-men : To love them, is
one of the principal commands of
the law. This love is not to be con-
fined to thought or idea alone, but
is to be actively evinced whenever oc-
casion offers. However deeply, there-
fore, thy mind is engaged in study and
contemplation, however profoundly
absorbed in meditation, still " re-
ceive every man cheerfully." What-
ever his creed or nation, whatever
his rank or station, he is a man, he is
thy brother ; therefore receive him
cheerfully, and regret not his pre-
sence as a loss of time, and as the
cause which diverts thee from thy
important pursuit : For, however
important that pursuit may be, still
all men without exception have a
claim on thy kindness.

RABBI SIMEOX, the son of Gamaliel, said, " All my days vyrun I have grown up (or
been reared) among the wise, but have found nothing more salutary for the body than
silence. The primary object is not 'CTTOrt the giving of precepts, but it is rrsnWT the
practical example ; and much talk produces sin."

COMMENTARY. All my days I have
grown up (or been reared) among the
wise — The word Tl^T-H, (which we
translate to "grow up, or to be
reared,"} derived from the root b~\2
" to grow large," is generally ap-
plied to children only. Our teacher,
however, though grown to man's
estate and even to advanced age, still
uses the word in order to impress on
us the important truth, that man's
education is not confined to the pe-
riod of his growth and progress
from infancy to manhood; but that
throughout his whole life-time he is
not only susceptible of further im-
provement or education, but that
until the hour of his death he ac-
tually does continue to be reared for
future good or evil according to
the associations and impressions by
which he is influenced.

1 have found nothing more salutary
for the body than silence — Our
teacher here uses the word Pp-? for
the body, in order to impress on our
minds, that in worldly affairs and in
our intercourse with mankind, si-
lence, the virtue of speaking only
in proper season and strictly to the
purpose, is of the utmost import-
ance. And as abstaining from need-
less and incautious words is most
salutary, the reverse must naturally
be pernicious. This is a general rule
to be observed in all worldly matters.

The primary object is not tyTOruAs
giving of precepts, but nitfi* 3 n t he
practical example — In religious mat-
ters, however, it is our duty to speak,
to exhort, and to instruct. But,
even in these, our teacher takes care
to tell us that it is not precept alone
which works beneficially on the mul-
Y

340

THE MISHXA.

titude, but that practice operates far
more powerfully and efficaciously ;
that therefore, however eloquent
a teacher may be, however persua-
sive his accents, or irresistible his
appeal, let him not consider these
gifts as primary means of instruct-
ing bis flock, but let him recollect,
that where words fail deeds tell,
and that one bright and practical
example instructs more forcibly
than do numbers of the most bril-
liant discourses.

And much talk produces sin — Our
teacher here uses the word NDM and
not py, to express " sin." The
former of these words denotes the
separating from good and the inclin-
ing to what is evil, which i is natural
to man : Whereas the second denotes
the actual commission of a sinful
deed. The inclination towards good
and that towards evil are both inhe-
rent in man. The wise and pious man
knows how to secure the ascendancy
to his good inclinations by checking
the evil ones ere they are developed.
He exercises constant vigilance to
keep the latter in a state of subjec-
tion. In order to do this effectually,
his mind must be properly trained ;
and it requires on his part the prac-
tice of constant, profound, and un-
remitting attention. It is, however,
more easy for man to be on his
guard in the exercise of every other
corporeal faculty than in that of
speech : For as his thoughts are more
concentrated within himself during

the performance of any other act, his
senses and powers are more con-
trolled by his mind than while
speaking, as part of his attention is
then naturally absorbed by external
objects ; he is, therefore, more ex-
posed to sin in his discourse than at
any other time. It is possible that
his anger may be aroused, and seek
vent in harsh language, putting ano-
ther to the blush ; slander or calum-
ny may be uttered by his evil pas-
sions ; secrets may be betrayed, or
confidence abused. For those evil
inclinations which are extant within
him, and kept in a state of quies-
cence by dint of constant watchfulness,
are now on the alert to find a valve
for the expansion of their activity ;
and his reflections being turned from
himself to what is passing around
him, they give him the slip, invade
his mind, usurp the direction of his
words, and frequently lead him on
to sin. In this sense the wise Solo-
mon said, " In many words sin can-
not be avoided ; but he who is
sparing of his lips is wise." (Prov.
x. 19.) The summary of our teach-
er's counsel is, Let thy example
teach, rather than thy precepts. Be
sparing of thy words. Consider
every speech which thou utterest as
a distinct action, which requires ma-
ture reflection ere it is undertaken ;
then wilt thou preserve the ascend-
ancy over thy evil inclinations, and
avoid sin.

HE further said, "The existence of DVwn, (he universe, rests on three things. On
f~\,law or justice, truth, and peace. For it is said, (Zech. vii. 16,) " Truth, justice?
and peace shall ye judge in your gates." (I. xviii.)

COMMENTARY. The existence of
the universe rests on three things — The
word obl3f» has, in Hebrew, various
significations. 1. The universe : As
Isaiah xl. 28, "il obltf '•nbw. "The
Lord is God of the universe." 2.
Duration of time, either limited or
eternal : As an instance of the first
we find, talm'b "najn, "He shall
serve him for a certain space of time,
till the coming of the Jubilee."
(Exodus xxi. 6.) Of the second
the, following is an instance :

i" obi}?m, " From

eternity to eternity thou art God ; "
(Psalm xc. 2 ;) meaning, from eter-
nity of the past to eternity in future.
3. It likewise denotes life of a distin-
guished kind, either in this world or
in the next : Accordingly the Rab-
bies use mil oblj? to denote tem-
poral life, and Nin tD^iy to denote
eternal life. 4. In Rabbinical phrase-
ology it denotes the social state and
its institutions. These four different
significations are, however, here com-
bined by our teacher, who says that
the universe, the duration of time,

THE MIS11NA.

347

life here and hereafter, and society
with its institutions, all depend upon
these threeprinciples.

On pi, law (or justice) — The uni-
verse is regulated by the law of cre-
ation. To this law it owes the im-
mutable order, according to which
the various operations of its manifold
and distinct parts are performed.
Any interruption of this order, and
consequent violation of law, (which
in the equipoise of the various sys-
tems is strictly just, being the ema-
nation of Perfect Wisdom,) would
confuse and destroy the universe.
The duration of time, which is
known but by the existence of the
universe, must of course depend on
the same law. In like manner as
the universe is guided by the law of
creation, man has given to him for
his guidance the revealed law and
will of his God. And as man is a
free agent, it is only by a due ob-
servance of this law in his present
state that he can attain the life to
come. The general law of nature is
preservation. If we sometimes be-
hold a momentary departure from
this general tendency of the law of
nature, and witness partial destruc-
tion produced by earthquakes, volca-
noes, and the like, we may rest as-
sured that even these apparent ex-
ceptions do in reality conform to the
general rule, and contribute to the
preservation of the whole. Thus,
when the law condemns the mur-
derer to suffer death, its purpose is
likewise the preservation of the
whole ; and therefore it is said,
" The earth is not expiated for the
blood that is shed on it, except by
the blood of him who shed it."
(Numbers xxxv. 33.) This punish-
ment is therefore inflicted in strict
accordance with the law of nature.
The institutions of society, as they
are the offspring of law, depend on
law for their support ; and must
sink in the chaos of anarchy, the
instant the wholesome restraint of
law is suspended or withdrawn.

On truth — The word JTDN, "truth,"
denotes either an idea, expression,
or action corresponding with reality.
Ideas are true, when they are exempt
from error. Expressions are true,
when they are not only exempt from
error, but likewise from premeditated

2

falsehood, or are divested of every
tendency to lead others to erroneous
conclusions. Actions are true, when
they are in unison with the inward
thought, and to the purpose intended
to be attained. In this last sense the
Rabbles say,rc»"n":i"pn ^UMonn,
" The signet of the Holy One (blessed
be HE) is truth." Their meaning
is, that, throughout his boundless
sphere of influence and action, every
thing past, present, and to come,
corresponds and is in unison with
that vast and incomprehensible pur-
pose, known to himself alone, which
led to creation. Therefore our
teacher tells us, that the universe
depends for its existence on truth ;
that, as the duration of time is de-
pendent on_the lawof creation, (which
itself is governed by truth, or the
immutable purpose of the Deity,) it
of course ensues, that time likewise
owes its existence to truth. "While
thus truth in action regulates the
universe, it is truth in idea and ex-
pression when made known ; and
this, inculcated by the revealed
law of God, regulates our conduct in
this life, that we may be found wor-
thy of the life to come. Lastly, so-
ciety and its institutions combine
for their support all the various gra-
dations of truth, — in idea, in expres-
sion, and in action. The assertion
is false, that the prevalence of error,
or misleading mankind, can promote
the stability of social institutions.
This falsehood has ever been the
cause of unhappiness to human so-
ciety ; for, all the ills with which it
has ever been plagued, or under
which it still groans, are the genuine
offspring of error and craft ; which,
though they may lord it for a time,
yet always end with undermining
and crushing the frail and baseless
fabrick which themselves have raised.
On the contrary, the more complete-
ly the films of error are dissipated,
and the more powerfully the rays of
truth illumine all mankind, the more
firmly will the bonds of society be
knit, the more stable will its institu :
tions become, the more unlikely (not
to say impossible) will be the relapse
into error and its attendant ills, and
the more constant, universal, and
solid will be the spread of happiness.
On peace — The principal meaning
y 2

348

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIKS

of the word tn^US is " concord," or
" harmony." Thus Jerusalem is
called, Cn^itf ttf V, " The inheritance
of concord," being destined to teach
mankind to find true happiness in
that concord which is promised here-
after to be the portion of the human
race : As it is said, " And many na-
tions shall go and say, Come ye, and
let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob ; and he will teach us of his
ways, and we will walk in his paths.
For out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. And he shall judge
among the nations, and admonish
many people : and they shall beat
their swords into ploughshares and
their spears into pruning-hooks ; na-
tion shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war
any more." (Isaiah ii. 3, 4.) And
further : " For then I will turn to the
nations a pure language, that they
may all call upon the name of the
Lord, to serve him with one consent."
(Zeph. iii. 9.) Harmony, the obedi-
ence to the law of creation enacted
by truth, — is the reciprocal operation
of the various parts of the universe,
and the basis of their preservation.
Were that harmony interrupted, even
but for an instant, chaos would re-
sume its sway, and, amidst the
wreck of the universe, time would
cease to be. The present life is a

(To be continued )

stepping-stone to that to come. As
man sows in this world, he reaps in
the next. It is but a continuation
of existence on a "different scene.
And such is the harmony which per-
vades all existence, that man finds
all that is desirable in the past re-
vived in the rewards of a future
state. Society is based on the peace
and concord of all that dwell under
its institutions. And the examples
are but too frequent in the pages of
history, that, while unanimity gives
power to the weak, discord destroys
the powerful.

For it is said, Truth, justice, and
peace shall ye judge in your gates —
Our sage teacher, having thus fully
carried out the truth of his maxim,
in all its bearings, closes his instruc-
tions by impressing on our minds,
that, though his principles apply
alike to the universe and whatever it
contains, yet his doctrine is chiefly
addressed to man as a member of
society, and, in a great measure, de-
pendent for his happiness on the
perfection of the institutions under
which he lives. And, lest we might
fall into the erroneous supposition,
that what he has said is the result of
logical deductions only, and resting
on his own authority alone, he calls
our attention to that sacred source
of truth, REVELATION, and to the
unquestionable authority of its Di-
vine character.

III. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim :

CHAPTER XVIII.

THERE is a wide difference between
that command which has been di-
rectly communicated by the Deity,
and heard by him or them who is or
are to obey, and the communication
made through the medium of a pro-
phet. For that which has once been
directly communicated by the Deity
cannot undergo either alteration or
modification, except by means of a
communication equally direct. Thus,
when Abraham had been com-
manded, " Take now thy son, thine
only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest,

BOOK OF PRINCIPLES : BY E. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 334.)

and get thee into the land of Moriah,
and offer him there for a burnt-
offering ; " (Gen. xxii. 2 ;) no com-
munication by means of a prophet
had sufficient authority to recall the
Divine command; and therefore
" the Angel of the Lord called unto
him out of heaven, and said, ' Lay
not thine hand upon the lad, neither
do thou any thing unto him.' " (Gen.
xi. 12.) Direct as had been the
command, direct likewise was its re-
peal. When the man of God who
had been sent to Jeroboam, and who
had been commanded by the Lord,
" to eat no bread, to drink no water,

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIE3.

349

and not to return by the same way
he came," suffered himself to he
misled hy the pretended Divine
commission of another prophet, he
. as punished for having preferred
an inferior authority to the direct
command of God. (1 Kings xi. 32.)
But that which has been communi-
cated by a prophet may be altered
or modified by a similar communica-
tion. When, therefore, the Holy
One (blessed be HE !) vouchsafed to
make known his Ten Command-
ments on Mount Sinai, he did so di-
rectly, and in the hearing of all the as-
sembled myriads of Israel, who were
called upon to obey these commands.
Nevertheless, it requires some re-
flection : As the Talmud says, " The
two first sentences, I am the Lord
thy God, &c., and, Thou shall
hate no other gods, fyc., we heard
miiin ^O from the mouth of Om-
nipotence." (Treatise Mackoth, folio
24.) This Talmudic assertion ap-
pears the more strange, as Holy
Writ expressly states, " These words
the Lord spake unto all your assem-
bly in the Mount, out of the midst
of the fire, of the cloud, and of the
thick darkness, &c. And he wrote
them on two tables of stone, and
gave them unto me." (Deut. v. 22.)
And further : " And he wrote on the
tables, according to the first writing,
the Ten Commandments which the
Lord spake unto you in the mount
in the midst of the fire in the day of
the assembly : and the Lord gave
them to me." (Deut. x. 4.) So that
it appears clear, that the whole of
the Ten Commandments were all
equally heard by all Israel from the
mouth of Omnipotence. Why then
does the Talmud make a distinc-
tion between the first and the suc-
ceeding commands ? However start-
ling this assertion of the Talmud ap-
pears, we nevertheless, upon mature
investigation, discover that it is
founded on Holy Writ. The com-
mencement of the Commandments is,
&c., ^;», " I am," &c. vn»vn ^«>

" which I have brought thee out," &c.

»3S by D'in« o^nriK "p rrrvto,
" Thou shall have no other gods
before me." The wording here is
altogether in the first person, Jam;
I brought out ; before me. But all the

succeeding commandments are in
the third person : As we read :

Kittfb *vnbtf "n t=jt»-n« «e>n «V

" Thou shall not take the name of
the Lord thy God in vain, for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless who
taketh 1 2 tit his name in vain," &c. ;
This is the case with all the olher
commandments. Thus there is evi-
dently a distinction between the
first two and the succeeding ones.
And though all Israel heard the
whole Ten Commandments delivered
by the Deity, yet the difference in
the langtiage could not fail to attract
the attention of the Talmud, which
therefore emphatically marks this di-
rect revelation, where the Lord
speaks in the first person. Nor is it
by any means without sufficient mo-
tive that this most direct and power-
ful style of revelation is made use of.
The causes which seduced the an-
cient Heathens into the worship of
idols are various. Some fell into the
error of supposing, that although
there exists a First Cause, yel his
powers are material, and that he is
himself the soul of the various or-
bits : Such was the system of Epicu-
rus and h;.s disciples. Others asserted,
that as the Deity had created the
astral bodies of a higher degree, and
more nearly approximating to him
than this nether world, and as they
they therefore hold a superior rank
in creation, it behoves man to pay
his adorations to them ; that by so
doing man was acting in accordance
with the will of the Creator, who,
like a mortal king, desired that due
homage should be paid to those
whom he delighteth to honour. Many
maintained, that, from the infi-
nite greatness of God, it was im-
possible there should be any affinity
between Him and man : Hence
they inferred the necessity of media-
tors between God and man : This
was the error of Ahab and the other
idolatrous kings of Israel and of
Judah. Some thought that the Deity
has no connexion whatever with this
nether world, which, according to
them, is entirely governed by the
emanations of the angelic orbits :
They therefore believed it to be their
duty to worship those from whom
they supposed all good to flo\v : Such

350

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABB1ES.

was the conduct of those wretched
women who said to the Prophet,
" Since we have left off to burn in-
cense to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink-offerings unto her,
we have wanted all things," &c.
(Jeremiah xliv. 18.) Others there
were, who, although they admitted
the existence of an immaterial Being,
yet harboured a more pernicious (be-
cause a less gross) error ; and main-
tained that the Deity does not notice
the conduct or actions of man. These
were they who replied to the exhor-
tations of the prophet by saying,
" The Lord hath abandoned the
earth ; the Lord doth not hehold."
(Ezekiel ix. 9.) Accordingly, they
maintained that it is ^inconsistent
with the greatness of God that he
should deem man worthy of his at-
tention ; and that theirs was the true
idea of the Divine dignity, when they
say, that man is too contemptible for
the notice of the Deity. To refute all
these erroneous opinions, the Deity
deigned to declare to the Israelites,
in the most distinct and emphatic
manner, speaking in his own proper
person, " I am the Lord," I alone am
eternal and immaterial, and there is
none else beside me. " Thy God," I
am the Godof,"allmen, and notice their
actions and conduct. "I have brought
thee out from the land of Egypt ;"
mine is the especial providence which
watches over every man. " Thou
shalt have no other Gods before
me ;" neither the heavens nor the
heavenly bodies, neither angels nor
any created being whatever, is to
be worshipped as the benefactor of
man. There is no mediator between
God and man. " For I the Lord thy
God am a jealous God ;" I will not
give mine honour to another ; "visit-
ing the iniquity of the fathers, &c.,
to those that hate me, and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that
love me ;" I do not abandon the
earth ; I do not consider those who
obey my laws, and those who trans-
gress my commandments, as alike
unworthy of my notice : But, su-
preme as I am in dignity, power,
and greatness, I reward man accord-
ing to his deeds. Such being the
momentous instructions conveyed in
these commands, they were of im-
portance sufficient for this direct and

especial revelation, addressed to the
Israelites by the Deity when speak-
ing to them all in the first person.
There is, moreover, this material
difference between these commands
delivered in the first person and the
others ; — that if an accredited and
approved Prophet of the Lord were
— to meet the exigencies of the mo-
ment, in the name of the Lord, — for
a short time to suspend any of the
other commandments, (as, for in-
stance, the Sabbath,) he must be
obeyed. But if the same prophet
were, in the name of the Deity, to
declare that God has commanded,
for a certain time, the heavenly
bodies, or any being in existence, to
be adored as a mediator between God
and man, we are bound not to obey
that prophet ; because what has once
been in the fullest and most direct
manner commanded to the nation
ITTliJn 'Bo, "from the mouth of
Omnipotence itself " speaking in the
first person, cannot be suspended,
modified, or altered, unless by means
of a similar direct and emphatic de-
claration, addressed by the Deity,
when speaking in the first person, to
all the assembled myriads of Israel,
their wives and their children, in the
same manner as he spoke at Sinai.

CHAPTER XIX.

FROM what we have now stated, it
results, that it is impossible for
Divine laws to undergo any altera-
tion in the three fundamental prin-
ciples; namely, the existence of the
Deity, Revelation of the Divine laws
from him, and Rewards and Punish-
ments, or Divine Providence ; the
whole of which have been pronounced
miHn >ao, " by the__mouth of
Omnipotence," when speaking" in the
first person. Accordingly we have,
in a former part of this work, (First
Division, chap. 25,) stated, that,
whatever modifications or alterations
Divine laws may undergo, their es-
sential principles still remain im-
mutable. This is an unquestionable
fact, which admits of no doubt. Other
laws of Moses, however, may be open
to the question, whether they can be
subjected to any alteration or not.
After the most mature reflection
which we have been able to afford to

THE PREFACE OF MAIMOMOES.

351

the consideration of this subject, we
are of opinion, that it is not permitted
to any raarr to deviate from the faith
which has been transmitted to him
in an authentic and credible manner,
which in its origin is founded on
Divine revelation, and which incul-
cates such fundamental principles
and the essential branches they in-
volve, as we have already enumerat-
ed. From such a faith no man is
justified in any way to deviate, ex-
cept it is proved by sufficient evidence
that the Deity has proclaimed his
will to alter that which, in a previous
revelation, he had commanded. The
nature of this evidence requires that
the truth of the messenger should be
fully approved. This is not done by
means of miracles, as it is possible
that miracles may be wrought by
men who are not prophets of the
Lord : For although we may not be
able to explain certain effects or acts
which to us appear supernatural, it
is not thence demonstrated that these
must necessarily be miraculous. All
that is thereby proved, is, that the
man who produces these effects, or
who performs these deeds, is gifted
with knowledge and skill surpassing
ours. The standard by which the
truth of the messenger is to be ascer-
tained and judged, is the mission of
.Moses. The messenger who de-
clares himself commissioned by God
to alter, modify, or repeal laws found-
ed on previous revelations, must

either be greater than Moses, or at
least his equal. An entire nation,
myriads of men, women, and chil-
dren, must again attain the highest
degree of prophetic inspiration, and
hear the Deity declare to them all,
that this messenger is his trusty
servant in whom they are to be-
lieve ; as was the case with Moses.
Such messenger must, moreover, not
work his wonders privately, but con-
trol the course of nature in the pre-
sence of assembled nations. The
effects of his wonders must be dura-
ble ; as was the case with those of
Moses. He must vanquish every
opponent, as Moses overcame Korah
and his adherents. He must con-
vince every wise man of his age, and
force them all to confess the Divine
authority of his mission, as Moses
did to Pharaoh and to the wise men
of Egypt. But if, in all or any of
these circumstances, this messenger
does not come up to the example of
Moses, there is no sufficient cause to
alter commandments founded on pre-
vious revelation, communicated to a
messenger approved and accredited
like Moses. Whether, in days to
come, the Divine laws which at pre-
sent we obey, may actually undergo
any alteration or modification, is fo-
reign to our present inquiry : For,
should that time ever arrive, suffi-
cient evidence of the Divine pleasure
will assuredly be afforded to us.
(To be continued.')

IV. THE PREFACE OF MAIMOXIDES

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE ~~~

(Concluded from page 286 J

I WILL now begin to treat of my which arise from them.

that

original subject : Know then,
as a blind person cannot form an
idea of colours, nor a deaf man ima-
gine the sound of the voice, so is the
body insensible to the delights of
the soul : And in the same manner
as fishes can have no idea of
fire, (for they exist only in water,
its opposite element,) so are the de-
lights of the spiritual world un-
known to the inhabitants of that
which is temporal. We have, in-
deed, few pleasures here but those
of the senses, and the sensations

And all be-
yond these is to us as without exist-
ence ; for we understand it not, nor
do we even attain an incipient idea
of it without deep and great investi-
gation. Thus, however, is it proper
that we should be circumstanced ;
for we are in a corporeal world, and,
therefore, can only feel slight and
finite pleasures : But those of the
soul are perpetual, endless, and
eternally existent ; between which
and earthly joys there is neither
comparison, approximation, nor simi-
litude in the remotest degree. Nor

352

THE PREFACE OP MA.IMONIDES.

is it considered proper by those
versed in the law, nor by divines,
nor by philosophers, to say that the
angels, and other celestial influences
enjoy no pleasurable sensations ; for
they, in truth, do possess these,
knowing and comprehending the
truths of the Creator; (blessed be
HE !) a felicity, infinite and excel-
lent far above the bodily pleasures
which fall to our lot. Still we are
so circumstanced, that he who will
purify himself can do so, and will
after death be exalted to a high de-
gree ; whence he will neither desire,
nor look down upon, terrestrial en-
joyments, excepting with the same
eye as that with which a king, long
and firmly seated on his throne,
would in retrospection view the
sports of his childish years, when
he valued them before he could dis-
criminate between the advantages of
the two stations : Thus do we, now
in our life-time, enjoy and receive,
bodily pleasures, in the ignorance of
spiritual joys.

If these two kinds of pleasure are
considered, the inferiority of the
one, and the excellence of the other,
are manifest even in this world ; for
the greater part of mankind will be
found exerting all their powers of
body and mind, in various painful
and irksome occupations, with a
view of acquiring honours and re-
gard, in preference to the ordinary
gratifications of the senses, to which
some prefer revenge. Many aban-
don the greatest of the pleasures,
fearful of the shame which might
follow, or anxious to acquire a good
name amongst mankind ; and if
such be their intention in this cor-
poreal world, how much more so
irmst it be in the spiritual, which is
the ^world to come ! for there our
souls attain to a knowledge of the
Creator. (Blessed be HE!) This de-
light is indivisible, incomparable, in-
describable : On it the Prophet re-
flecting said, " How great is the
good thou hast prepared for those
who fear thee ! " And thus the
Rabbanim (peace be with them ! )
remarked : "In the world to come
there is neither eating, nor drinking,
nor washing, nor clothing ; but the
righteous sit with their crowns on
their heads, rejoicing in the splendour

of the Divine Presence." When they
say, " with their crowns on their
heads," they mean to express the
durability of the soul in its retention
of its essential understanding, which
is of the Creator ; (blessed be HE ! )
and by the existence of the soul
they mean that understanding.
This is one of the subjects into
which philosophical investigation
has far extended. And when they
say, " rejoice in the splendour of the
Divine Presence," they mean, that
the soul receives bliss from the com-
prehensive understanding of the
truth of the Creator, (blessed be
HE ! ) in the same way as holy spirits,
and other degrees of angels, enjoy
happiness in what they attain and
know concerning His existence.
Now the principal good, and the
chief aim, is to attain to this supe-
rior degree and excellence ; the soul
perpetually existing with its Cre-
ator, (holy be His name ! ) who is
the eternal, self-existing, never-end-
ing Cause. This is " the great good,"
to which none other approximates,
or bears comparison ; for how can
eternity, infinite, and ever endur-
ingly perpetual, be assimilated to
that which is subject to cessation
and period ? On this it is said, " In
order that it may be well with thee,
and that thy days maybe lengthened
to eternity." The great and signal
evil is, the cutting off of the soul,
mentioned in the law; as, "that
soul shall surely be cut off"," &c. ;
on which the Rabbanim have said,
" Cutting off in this world is cutting
off in the world to come." It is
also written : " May the eoul of my
lord be bound in the bundle of
life ! " Those who much delight in
worldly pursuits and pleasures, de-
spising truth, and encouraging false-
hood, will never attain to the great
degree, but will be left as a cut-off
wall.

The prophet (peace be with him !)
explained that the world to come is
not intelligible to the worldly senses,
in the exclamation,. " No eye has
seen it, O God, save thine ! " In
explanation of this, the Rabbanim
remark, that " all the prophets speak
only as to the coming of the Mes-
siah ; but the world to come no eye
has seen, except that of God."

THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDES.

353

Surely the good and the had men-
tioned in the law is the principle of
what I hare explained to you. It is
what is meant when you are told,
"If you will do these command-
ments, I will assist you in your per-
formance of them, removing from
you all hinderance and impediment:
So that none of you shall be pre-
vented from executing them, either
by sickness, hunger, or thirst, or the
calamities and straits of war." The
object of the facilities thus afforded
to enable us to perform our duties
is, that we may attain such know-
ledge as may be worthy of the life of
the world to come.

Thus it appears, that there is no
end of the reward consequent on the
performance of the law, and that the
punishment of men's neglect is the
inability to perform it : As it ' is
said, " Instead of your sen-ing," &c.
&c. And if you consider the thing
well, you will find that this is the
substance of what you are told : " If
you will do some of these command-
ments from love, and from a good
intention, I will assist you in the
performance of the remainder, and I
will remove from you all impedi-
ments : And if you forsake any of
them, I will bring misfortune upon
you, and impediments which shall
prevent you from performing all of
them ; so that you shall have no
perfection nor eternity in the world
to come." On this the Rabbanira have
said, " The tendency and reward of
a good action is a good action ; and
that of a bad one is a bad action."
Perhaps, too, the garden of Eden is
a cultivated and fruitful spot, inter-
sected by rivers, and abounding in
varied and precious productions.
This the Creator (blessed be his
name !) will reveal to man, in the
future world, and will show the way
which leads to happiness, and by
which we may approach him. Per-
haps, extraordinary and supernatural
pleasures will be found there, sur-
passing human imagination. All
this, likewise, is not impossible,, nor
remote, but likely to be ; and, al-
though not openly expressed in the
law, it is nevertheless understood,
and conveyed by it. Gehinnom is
the name of the sorrow and punish-
ment befalling the wicked, the na-

ture of which is not explained in the
Talmud : Some say that the sun
approaches the wicked, and destroys
them, which notion they found on
the passage, " Behold the day
cometh, burning as an oven." Others
say, that it is a strange heat, which
renews itself in the bodies of the un-
righteous, and burns them up : For
this they refer to the verse, " Fire
shall consume their spirit." The
re-animation of the dead is the foun-
dation of all the grand principles of
Moses, our Teacher ; (peace be with
him !1 and there is neither religion,
nor adherence to the Jewish religion,
in those who do not believe this ;
but it applies only to the righteous :
As is the language of Bereshith Rab-
bah : — "The benefit of rain is for'the
righteous and for the wicked ; but
the re-animation of the dead is for
the righteous alone." How, too,
can the wicked live, when they are
as though they are dead even in.
their life-time ? As it is said, " The
wicked, even in their lives, are called
dead; and the righteous, even in
their death, are called tiring." For
know that man must die, and return
to that of which he is composed.

The days of the Messiah is the
time when the kingdom will return
to Israel, and the period of their
restoration to their own land. He
will be an exceedingly great mo-
narch, and his metropolis will be
Zion. His renown will be greater
than that even of king Solomon. All
people will live in peace with him,
and all lands obey him, on account
of his righteousness, and the wonders
which it will be in his power to per-
form. All his enemies will be de-
stroyed ; for the protection of God
will be continually with him. Xu-
merous passages of the Scripture
allude to his prosperity, and to ours
with him. In other respects the
order of things will not in any way
be changed from what it is now, ac-
cording to the language of the Rab-
banim : " There is no difference be-
tween this world and the days of the
Messiah, except the return of the
kingdom." In his days there will
be rich and poor, strong and weak,
and other varieties in the same way,
excepting that in those times it will
be very easy for mankind to obtain

2 z

254

THE PREFACE OP MAIMOMDES;

the means of subsistence^ so that by
a little exertion much may be ef-
fected. This is what is meant when
it is said, " The land of Israel will
bring forth prepared dishes," &c. ;
so that people say, that men will find
food prepared, and cooked in various
manners, according to the passage,
" Strangers shall be your husband-
men, and tillers of your vineyards ;
and you jwill kno\V the seed-time
and harvest." Consequently, the
Rabbi who made use of the above
saying, was angry with his disciple,
who did not understand him, but
took him according to the literal
meaning of his words. The answer
therefore was not a correct one, and
was given on the principle, " Answer
a fool according to his folly." The
great advantage of those times will
be, that we shall recover from the
subversion of our kingdom, which
will be restored to its splendour ;
thus affording us greater opportunity
of performing the commandments,
and thereby increasing wisdom : As
it is said, " The earth will be full of
knowledge." Wars will cease: "Na-
tion shall not lift up the sword against
nation ;" and in those days universal
peace will prevail, and mankind will
merit the life of the world to come.
The Messiah, likewise, will die, and
his son and posterity will reign after
him. The prophet remarked con-
cerning his death, that " he will not
cease until he establish judgment in
the earth/' Like his reign, men's
lives will also be greatly prolonged ;
for the absence of cares generally
lengthens human existence. It is not
to be a matter of wonder if his reign
should even last two thousand years ;
for, as the Rabbanim say, " When
good company meet, they are not
soon separated." We do not wish
for the days of the Messiah on ac-
count of their splendour, riches, and
sensual gratifications, (as they do
whose ideas are bewildered,) but ra-
ther as the Prophets and other pious
characters desired them, in order
that they might see wisdom and vir-
tue flourish under the rule of a won-
derful and sapient king : As it is
written, " The Lord said unto me,
Thou art my Son ; this day thou art
born." Then shall all the command-
ments of Moses our instructer (peace

be with him !) be done : As it is said;
"One man shall no more teach his
brother, nor another his neighbour,
saying, ' Know the Lord ;' for they
shall all know me, from great to
small." " And I will place my law
in your hearts." " I will remove the
heart of stone from your flesh."
With many other passages of Scrip-
ture of the same purport. And with
these principles will mankind attain
the world to come, life everlasting j
which, after all, is the great end in
view, and to it is our chief attention
ultimately directed j and, on that
account, the wise man, versed in the
knowledge of truth, looks most par-
ticularly to that end, and separates
all that is foreign to it, and says/
"All Israel have a portion in the
world to come ;" and as that is the
end sought after, is it not both need-
ful and proper to inquire whether
the seeker serves from love, or from
the hope of attaining it, as we have
explained in a preceding part ? It is
therefore sufficient to serve in the
right way, which is prescribed, and
to believe that wisdom consists in it,
and that it is the law which reached
the Prophet from the Creator, (may
he be exalted !) in which are defined
the good way, which is the observ-
ance of the commandments, and the
bad way, which is the transgression
of them. All is proper as long as
man adopts the course of adhering
to the right, and avoiding the wrong ;
by which means he secures to him-
self his rank in the scale of humanity,
sets himself above the brute; and,
becoming a virtuous character, he is,
at the same time, a perfected being,
to whom there is no impossibility of
his soul's existence, or of its bound^
less and unlimited duration, which
is the world to come of which we
have been speaking.

That, too, is the meaning of what
is said, " Be not as the horse or the
mule, understanding not the bit or
the bridle, to cast off your iniqui-
ties." It is clear from this compari-
son that the beast is supposed to be
unable to cast off his sins : But
man is not so ; for his power is from
himself, and voluntary ; I mean to
say, that it is within the faculty of
man to perfect himself, and to cast
from him those things which hinder

ESSAY ON THE AXCISNT SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.

335

his perfection, and which are called
"the evil means," and to excite and im-
pel him until he bring himself to per-
fection, which is " the good means."
All this has appeared to me from
what I have concluded from the
words of the Rabbanim, on this
weighty and exalted principle.

I intend to compile a work, in
which I will collect all the maxims
which are propounded in the Tal-
mud and elsewhere, to compare
them, and adduce reasonings upon
them, which shall be congenial to
the truth of their principles. I will
show the points on which the opi-
nions are founded, and what are
the literal, allegorical, plain, or
mystical, modes in which they are
conveyed.

Many points of faith will enter
into my explanations ; and amongst
them some of the weighty ones of
which, in my rapid and slight ex-
pressions, I have here offered an in-
ceptive idea.

It will not be consistent to criticise
me in any part of these my remarks,
on account of my abundant and free
use of many phrases and reason-
ings, which often incur the disap-
proval of the learned ; for I have
been treating on a subject than
which none can be more interesting
and engrossing ; a subject honoura-
ble and elevated in its nature, and
one which to all men is not equally
intelligible.

E. X.

FROM THE

V. ESSAY ON THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.

rnim nian: FOR 5582. (1822.)

(Continued from page 336 J

propagated in Egypt and Chaldea
through Abraham. Josephus, who
relates these facts, (Ant., lib. i. cap.
8,) refers to the testimony of other
historians in support of his narration.

WAS the son of Salah, and the
grandson of Shem, and is said to
have been the assistant of his grand-
father. Josephus and many others
derive the name D\in% " Hebrews,"
from"] ai?, " Eber." If this deriva-
tion is correct, it is probable that the
word Hebrew at first denoted " a pu-
pil of Eber ;" as it is far more likely
that the young and active grandson
Eber should have been the zealous
instructer of Abraham, than the old
and feeble grandsire Shem. And as
Abraham was the great promulgator
of the religious instruction bestowed
on him by Eber, he is the first who
in Holy Writ is emphatically called
'")2J?n, "the Hebrew," or " disciple
of Eber."

The Arabs call tha patriarch Eber,
" Hud," and venerate him as a pro-
phet. The Koran of Mohammed
has an entire chapter devoted to a
sermon addressed by the prophet
Hud to the nations, on the subject
of the unity of God. His perverse
hearers insist upon miraculous proofs.
This legend, which, like all other
ancient narrations, has some founda-
tion in truth, teaches us that the
chief occupation of this patriarch
was to promulgate religious truth.
The doctrines of this school were

MELCHI-ZEDECK.

WHILE one Rabbinical legend
identifies him with Shem, and de-
clares him, as such, to have been the
tutor of Abraham, another legend
relates, that Melchi-Zedeck was the
son of king Melchi, an idolater,
whose queen was named Salemah ;
and that the king, intending to offer
to his idols, and to initiate his son
in their service, sent him out to select
seven calves for the sacrifice. While
on this errand, the mind of the youth-
ful prince became suddenly enlight-
ened, and penetrated with the great
truth of the unity of God, and with
the conviction that offering the wor-
ship to idols which is due only to the
Creator, was a most heinous sin. He
immediately returned, with the firm
resolve to reclaim his father from his
errors. The king, however, refused
to listen to his exhortations ; and,
fancying that his gods were offend-
ed by the heresy of his son, he sa-
crificed two others of his children in
order to appease their wrath.

Horror-struck at this act of cruel-

2 z 2

356

TALMUDIC APHORISMS.

ty, of which he considered himself
the innocent cause, Melchi-Zedeck
fled from his paternal home, and
concealed himself on Mount Tabor.
There he lived seven years; wild
berries being his food, and the dews
of heaven his beverage. At the ex-
piration of this period, Abraham was,
in a nightly vision, directed to as-
cend Mount Tabor, to seek the re-
cluse, and to complete his instruc-
tion. Abraham did so ; and, after
having spent a considerable time to-
gether in intellectual contemplations,
they parted. Melchi-Zedeck, return-

ing to his native land, found hi8
idolatrous father dead. He succeed-
ed him in the government, and in-
troduced among his subjects the
knowledge and worship of the true
God. He thus united the three of-
fices of King, Priest, and Teacher.
As such, he went forth to meet Abra-
ham, after his victory over the four
confederate kings; and, having given
him his blessing, was, in return, ac-
knowledged by Abraham as the
Priest of the Most High God. (Vide
Medrash Rabbah on Gen. xliii.)
(To be continued.)

VI. TALMUDIC APHORISMS.

R. JOSE said, " The office does
not confer honour on the man, but
the man must confer honour on his
office."

To HIM who loveth his neigh-
bour, assists his relatives, and at-
tends to the poor in the hour of
distress, Holy Writ addresses the
consolation : " Thou shalt call and
the Lord will answer : thou shalt
implore, and He will reply, Here I
am." (Isaiah Iviii. 9-)

R. SAMLAI said : Six hundred and
thirteen commandments were given
to Moses at Sinai. These David
condensed into eleven, when he said
" Lord, who may abide in thy ta-
bernacle ? Who may dwell on thy holy
mountain ? 1. He who walketh up-
rightly, 2. Worketh righteousness,
3. And speaketh the truth in his
heart : 4. Who calumniates not with
his tongue, 5. Doeth no evil to his
neighbour, 6. Nor casts a reproach

upon his kin, 7- The vile his eye
contemneth : 8. Those who fear the
Lord he honoureth: 9. What he
has vowed to his own hurt, he chang-
eth not. 10. His money he putteth
not out to usury, 11. Nor taketh a
bribe against the innocent. He who
doeth these, shall never be moved."
(Psalm xv.) These Isaiah condensed
into six when he said : "1. He who
walketh righteously, 2. And speak-
eth uprightly ; 3. He who despiseth
the gains of oppression, 4. And
withholds his hands from bribes :
5. Who closeth his ears against
blood (calumny,) 6. And shuts his
eyes against evil sights. He shall
dwell on high, &c." (Isaiah'xxxiii. 15.)
Subsequently he comprised them in
two : "Thus saith the Lord, Observe
justice and act righteously ; for my
salvation is near to come." (Isaiah,
Ivi. 1.) By Habakkuk, (ii. 4,)
they were all concentrated into one
— " The just shall live by his faith."
(Talmud, treatise Mackoth, folio 23.)

(To be continued.)

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

WANT of space and of time must plead in our behalf as an apology to
our numerous and respected Correspondents for not having yet noticed
their valuable communications. We will, however, avail ourselves of an
early opportunity to comply with the wishes 'of those who require a full
reply. To A. T. B., and B. M., we must express our regret that we cannot
adopt the advice of either. The suggestions of Philo- Judaeus will be duly
attended to. IV any thanks to A. H. ; his paper was too late for this week ;
we therefore reserve it for the next.

LONDON : — Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

FIFTH DAY OF ADAH, 5595.
FRIDAY, MARCH G, 1835.

No. 23.

I. THE MISHNA.

J15DD, Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

f3lb P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

( Continued from page 348.)

RABBI saith, " Which is the right way DTNTt 17 TUt} that man shonld single ont for himself ?
Whatever is glorifying to his Maker, and praiseworthy (or glorifying) to himself with
mankind. Be as careful to observe a slight commandment as a more important one :
For thou knowest not the free reward which awaits the observance of commandments.
Compute the loss incurred by observing a commandment against its reward ; and the
reward of a transgression against its loss. Contemplate three things, and thou wilt
eschew (or avoid) transgression : 1. Know what is above thee. 2. AN EYE seeth
and AX EAR heareth. 3. And all thy deeds are registered in a book." (II. 1.)

COMMENTARY. Rabbi saith — By the
designation "Rabbi" is meant R.
Jehuda Hanasi the prince, also called
Rabbenu hakadosh, " our holy Rabbi."
He was a son of R. Simon ben Ga-
maliel, and a lineal descendant of
Hillel. He is known as the most
learned Hebraist, and was eloquent
beyond all his contemporaries. In
order, therefore, truly to understand
his meaning, we must pay the most
scrupulous attention to his expres-
sions. He commences with a ques-
tion : —

Which is the right way ib Tll'ltf
QTKn that man should single out for
himself? — One would hardly imagine
that the most pious and learned man
of his age should deem it needful to
ask a question the simple reply to
which is, " That which is pointed out
by thy religion." Itis equally strange,
that he should use the word Til'ttf
" to single," or " pick out," derived
from the root Til the true meaning
ofwhichis "to purify," or "to pick
out the best and leave the remainder,"
as lib 11 "pure of heart ;" (Psalm
xxiv. 4 ;) and frequently in the Talmud

nbiDsn Tina t>n»h ITU, "who

picks out the grain from the chaff."
In this sense of " singling out the

3

best or most valiant" it is used in
1 Sam. xvii. 8 : U^N tJlb m " Sin-
gle out from amongst you a man,"
&c. ; instead of the verb "ini'ty " to
choose," which is more generally
employed: As, tD"ni mnil,
" Thou shalt choose life." (Deut xxx.
19.) This last word, from the root
"ml, simply means "to choose one
out of two things which are balanced
against each other." Our teacher,
however, does not make use of the
latter word ; because there is no
balancing or choosing one out of two
ways ; but there is only one way
which can be right, and which must
be singled out from all byepaths. How
to find out this right way of picking
out the grain and leaving the chaff,
he points out to us, and becomes our
guide, by acquainting us with the
unerring test : —

Whatever tsmNSM glorifying to
his Maker — The word mNSn from
the root "!N2, is used abstractedly to
express " the beauty of a moral ac-
tion : " But never as an adjective to
express the beauty of a thing ; for
which nc11 or Tin are used : As
GPOni n*rn "Thou most beau-
teous of women ;" (Cant. v. 9.)
: Tin "The beauty of his

358

THE MISH.VA.

majesty." f Isaiah ii. 21 :) Every
action or deed possessed of moral
beauty is glorifying to the Great
Creator, and forms the contrast to
pitman "adesecrationofthe holy
name of God." And as the last is
the most heinous crime of which man
can be guilty, by misleading the
minds of the ignorant, and inducing
them to harbour unworthy and dero-
gatory opinions respecting the Great
First Cause : So the glorifying his
Maker, impressing all mankind with
a high sense of His supreme dignity,
is the fiist duty of man, and the
standard according to which he can
judge of the merit and demerit of
whatever he does. But, in order to
render this test more evident, our
teacher adds : —

And whatever is praiseworthy (or
glorifying) to man in the eyes of his
fellow men — However much man may
be tempted to do evil, yet mankind
in general form a correct estimate
of an individual's actions. For the
love of the good and beauteous is
inherent in the nature of man ; and
though he may himself be unable to
resist the impetuosity of his passions,
and therefore may yield to their evil
influence, yet there is an inward voice
and feeling which forces him to ap-
plaud every great and good deed,
though he may not possess the force
to imitate it. He therefore who
wishes to be convinced that his path
is right and pure, needs not consult
the few who surround him, or
make his actions dependent on
the approbation or censure which
their prejudice may dictate. But
let him consider all human kind
alike as the spectators and judges of
his actions ; and, whenever his own
mind tells him that his deeds will
not merit the applause of these toler-
ably faithful judges, he may rest
convinced that he is about to forsake
the path of right. Our holy law
says, " This is your wisdom and un-
derstanding in the eyes of all the na-
tions." (Deut. iv. 6.)

Be as careful to observe a slight
commandment as a more important one,
fyc. — Having thus placed within our
reach a true touchstone and criterion
for our guidance, that we may know
how to distinguish the pure and
right, our teacher hastens to prevent

a possible abuse which may result
from his words. Man, having been
told to judge his actions by their
tendency to glorify God, and to ob-
tain the approbation of mankind,
may be tempted to extend this rule
to his observance or non-observance
of positive commandments ; some of
which he may think himself above
the necessity of obeying, as they are
less important than others. Thus
he may set up his own reason as sole
judge of what it behoves him to obey
or not, and may become a trans-
gressor of the law of God. To meet
this, our teacher tells him : " It is
true, some commandments are of
less, and some of greater, import-
ance ; but thou art not the judge of
their relative value. Thy most care-
ful observance is due to each and to
all ; for they are alike the commands
of thy God. Thou knowest not
their essential nature or purpose ;
and canst not tell what reward the
free grace of thy Great Benefactor
may deign to bestow on the observ-
ance of even the least of his com-
mands, performed with a pure heart,
full of love and obedience.

Compute the loss incurred by observ-
ing a commandment, fyc. — In order to
facilitate the observance, and to avoid
the transgression, of any command,
let man adopt this most salutary ad-
vice. If thou art called upon to sa-
crifice thy advantage or inclination
to the performance of thy duties, do
not repine ; but recollect, that what-
ever sacrifice thou bringest to what is
right and good can be but temporal,
while its reward is eternal. On the
contrary, whatever advantages may
accrue unto thee from the non-ob-
servance of a command can, like--
wise, be but temporal, and are too
dearly purchased by the sacrifice of
eternal bliss.

Contemplate three things, fyc., and
thou wilt eschew, or avoid, transgres-
sion— As a wise judge of human
frailty, our teacher is intent to facili-
tate a'nd ensure victory over the pas-
sions, by checking them in the germ,
and ere they can arrive at their full
developement. He therefore tells
us, that, in order to avoid sin and
eodiew transgression, it is needful to
have three things ever present to the
mind's eye, which cannot fail to pro-

THE MISIIXA.

3J 9

tect thee. These are : 1. Know what
is above thee — Not only is there a
difference between a man's carriage
and conduct when alone, and when
in the presence of a mighty monarch,
but the same difference, in some
measure, depends on his being in his
own home, or in the court of a great
King. Whatever he there beholds
inspires him with respect and vene-
ration, and fails not to produce its
impression on the mind. If this is
so, how incomparably greater must
be the respect, veneration, and awe,
which the reflection that he is in the
universe (the. court of the Supreme
Ruler of all that exists) roust pro-
duce on man. When he thinks that
he is in the midst of innumerable
beings, stars, and constellations,
surrounded by choirs of celestial
spirits, who, trembling, perform the
will of their Great Creator, — when he
keeps this most splendid and glori-
ous spectacle before his eyes, he can-
not sin. 2. An eye seeth and an ear
heareth — Our teacher does not say,
" An Eye seeth thee," or " An Ear
heareth thee," but simply, " An
Eye seeth, and an Ear heareth."
He means : As there exists an
Eye and an Ear, it is a necessary con-
sequence, that it seeth and heareth ;
as the Psalmist says, " He who
planted the ear, shall he not hear ?

he who shaped the eye, shall he not
see ?" (Psalm xciv. 8.) It is true that
the Divine Being is immaterial, and
not composed of parts, and has, there-
fore, neither eye nor ear ; but as he
has granted both sight and hear-
ing, and is moreover all-perfect,
he must of necessity be all-seeing
and all-hearing. Our teacher there-
fore says, " Do not suppose thou art
alone ; no OXE sees and hears thee.
Recollect there is an all-seeing Eye,
an all-hearing Ear, penetrating every
where, beholding every thing : And
this is proved by thy finding that
an Eye seeth and an Ear heureth."
3. And all thy deeds are registered
in a Book — Having given man two
great reasons why he is to avoid sin,
(namely, the dignity of the place and
the glorious presence in which he is,)
he continues, "Do not think that
thy deeds are transient and leave no
trace behind. Know, that though
but an atom, yet thou too art a link
in the infinite chain of creation ; that
even thy actions exercise their influ-
ence, from their connection with
the great whole and the succession
of results. This is the great book
in which deeds numberless are re-
gistered ; none of which are lost or
forgotten, but each of which entails
a responsibility on its perpetrator,
and will in due time be published.

RABBI GAMALIEL, the son of R. Jelmda Hanasi, saith, *' It is becoming to associate the
study of the law with active pursuits. For the twofold occupation makes thee forgetful
of sinning. Religion, withotit some trade or profession, eventually comes to nought, and
leads to sin." (II. 2.)

COMMENTARY. It is becoming io
associate, Sfc. — However important,
salutary, and indispensable is the
study of the law ; however necessary
that it should constantly and princi-
pally be present to the mind and
graven on the heart ; it is becoming
that man should combine therewith
some useful avocation. The great
bane of human virtue is idleness ;
its great promoter is constant and
useful occupation. The man whose
mind is occupied with the perform-
ance of a double duty, — that of stu-
dying the law of his God and of pro-
viding bread for his household, — is
not likely to have, time to waste on
idle and sinful thoughts :, Absorbed

by his twofold task, temptation is
banished from his mind, and he for-
gets to sin.

Religion, without some trade or
profession, fyc. — Man is not to say,
" As the study of religion and its
duties ought to be our principal oc-
cupation, I will make it my only
pursuit and means of subsistence."
He who says so, and acts accord-
ingly, derogates from the true dig-
nity of religion, and debases it into
a means of providing for his earthly
wants. It is impossible he should
stop short there : For as he becomes
accustomed to consider religion as a
mere trade, it will gradually lose its
influence on his own mind. Its

3 A 2

sco

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

rnles and dictates will become irk-
some to him ; its study a mere step-
ping-stone to worldly riches and
grandeur. Thus hypocrisy, outward
semblance and inward avarice, and

ambition, will usurp the place of re-
ligion, till the measure of his sins be
full, and his assumed piety come to
nought.

(To be continued.)

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 351.)

CHAPTER xxi.

THE law of Moses is called
" testimony : " As it is written, " And
in the ark thou shalt put niTi'M the
testimonies." (Exodus xxv. 21.) " If
thy sons observe my covenant, and
1? 'JTni? these my testimonies which
I teach them." (Psalm cxxxii. 12.)
For it is essentially a testimony or
evidence in support of the facts it
narrates ; which evidence of truth
is contained in its plain and obvious
wording. And although a more
sublime and mystical signification
is contained in many passages, yet it
is the simple and apparent meaning,
without any symbolical or typical
application whatsoever, on which rests
the evidence of the truth. Accord-
ingly David says, n:oio "n miy
" The testimonies of the Lord are
sure ; " (Psalm xix. 7 ;) that is to
say, The facts they attest, ac-
cording to the literal and precise
meaning of the words employed,
are true, and have really occurred.
But he who tries to find allegorical
or figurative meanings, hidden under
the precise wording of the com-
mandments of the law, with the in-
tention of substituting this figurative
signification, and superseding that
which is real, acts in direct opposi-
tion to the law ; and is alluded to by
the Sacred Singer, when he saith,
" The presumptuous have digged
pits for me, which are not according
to thy law. All thy commandments
are faithful. They persecute (me
with lies ; do thou help me. They
have almost consumed me upon
earth : but I have not forsaken thy
precepts. Revive me according to
thy mercy, and I will observe the
testimony of thy mouth." (Psalm
cxix. 85 — 89.) His meaning is :
" Presumptuous innovators endea-

vour to lead me astray, and to sink
me into the pitfalls of their false
expositions, which are not according
to thy law. It is true, they admit
all thy revelations are faithful; but
they strive to pervert my mind, by
asserting that these laws are merely
typical, and not to be understood ac-
cording to the direct meaning of the
words. With these false interpreta-
tions they constantly persecute me,
and have almost consumed me from
the earth: Do thou therefore assist
me, for I have not abandoned the
plain and literal signification of thy
precepts. Exhausted as I am, faint
and weary with incessantly combat-
ing these proud perverters of thy
word, do thou in thy mercy revive
me, that I may maintain "V Q nil}?
the testimonies of thy mouth ; and up-
hold that strictly true and positive
signification of thy commandments
which stamps it as the testimony of
thy revelation, and bears evidence to
the facts which it narrates, without
any admixture of fanciful and typical
illustrations."

Although according to the unani-
mous opinion of our pious sages,
these Sacred Records contain many
passages indicating sublime myste-
ries, (as, for instance, the descrip-
tion of the Garden of Eden, the
four rivers, &c., which have a figu-
rative sense,) nevertheless they all
agree that the facts narrated are true
according to the literal relation.
Such is likewise the case with the
construction of the tabernacle : Al-
though the description of its various
parts is indicative of more sublime
subjects, yet it is a fact that the ta-
bernacle did exist, and that its parts
were in strict ^conformity with this
description. Such, likewise, is the
case in the corporeal formation of
man : Though the mouth and its

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE KABB1ES.

361

parts are evidently the organs of
speech, yet they are likewise in-
tended as the channel and instru-
ment of nourishment, as in all other
animals. Thus when our Rabbles
assert, that the nether or terres-
trial Jerusalem is an image of
the superior or heavenly Jerusalem,
they certainly do not intend to tell
us that there is no terrestrial Je-
rusalem : And though the narrative
of the law may likewise contain allu-
sions to subjects of a more sublime
and mysterious meaning, yet the
plain and obvious literal signification
is always the true one. This is
more especially the case with the
commandments ; for, though they
likewise may indicate more exalted
matters, yet their observance, accord-
ing to the strict letter of the law, is
indispensable, in order to attain the
sacred purpose for which they are
enacted. Therefore the law is called
nilj?, testimonies, not only to point
it out as the true and sufficient evi-
dence of the Divine revelation to all
mankind ; but likewise to denote,
that, like all other evidence, it must
be taken according to the precise
meaning of the words employed by
the witnesses, and not be construed
according to any fanciful, symboli-
cal, or typical signification which it
may be convenient to impute to it,
but which in reality is contrary to its
simple truth.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE law which is at present with
us is, according to uninterrupted
tradition from father to son, the
identical law revealed to Moses and
Israel at Sinai without any alteration
whatever. In the time of the first
temple, when the priests and teach-
ers of the law were incorporated
with that establishment, it was im-
possible that any corruption or al-
teration could take place, as the
law was too well, generally, and pub-
licly known, to permit any such
attempt And although some of the
Kings worshipped idols, yet in their
days there was a constant succession
of prophets, up to the destruction of
the first temple, who exhorted the
nation to adhere to, and observe, the
original unaltered law. During the

Babylonish captivity, it is likewise
not possible that any alteration can
have taken plase. For amongst the
first captives under Jehoiachin, be-
fore the destruction of the temple,
were included the principal Sages of
the nation, *)-DCm U>"inn,* such as
Daniel and his three associates, and
Ezekiel : The latter of whom relates,
" A fugitive from Jerusalem came to
me, and said, The city is taken."
(Ezekiel xxxiii. 22.) All the cap-
tives who were scattered throughout
the land of Assyria had copies of the
book of the law. Even among the
Cuthim, whom the Kings of Assyria
settled at Samaria, the book of the
law was to be found. Thus at the
destruction of the first temple the
law was already promulgated, and
spread among the captives in the
land of Babylon ; it, therefore, was
impossible to introduce any altera-
tions. When Ezra returned from
Babylon to Jerusalem, he was accom-
panied only by a limited number of
humble individuals, while the princi-
pal chiefs, heads of families, and sages,
remained at Babylon. As a proof
of this we mention, that, of the en-
tire tribe of Levi, no one went with
him : As he says, " I inspected the
people and the priests, but of the
sons of Levi I found none there."
(Ezra viii. 15.) Thus it is evident
and plain, that he could not, of his
own accord, introduce any spurious
alterations or corruptions into the law,
without being at once detected and
exposed by those who remained in
Babylon. If, in the translations of
our law possessed by our nations,
there are various readings and devi-
ations, these are not found in the
original, but are caused by the dif-
ferent translators. The Israelites
themselves, however, observe the
most scrupulous attention in ihs
transcribing of the law, not only in
sentences and words, but also in the
very letters and orthographical va-
riations : So that they boast of
knowing the exact number of letters
which the law contains. In the
copies uf their books intended for

* These two words, which the authorized
version renders " craftsmen and smiths,"
the Talmud applies to " the principal teach-
ers and expounders of the law."

362

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

general use, they note in the margin
the numbers of letters, and of ac-
cents, as settled by the masorah or
tradition. This scrupulous and mi.
nute attention to preserve the work
in its integrity has not been imitated
by any other nation with respect to
any other work whatsoever. The
transcribers of the law were called
O^QTD, " numberers," because, as
the Talmud says, (treatise Kedushin,
folio 30,) their occupation was to
number the letters of the law. All this
proves, that the book of the law,
such as we possess it at the present
day, is precisely similar, not only in
its general contents, but also in the
very wording, to that transmitted by
Moses to the Israelites, and preserv-
ed by them and their descendants,
under every vicissitude up to the pre-
sent day.

CHAPTER XXIIf.

' THE epithet " perfect " is assigned
to an object which neither in idea
nor reality is susceptible of addition
or diminution. Accordingly, when
David says, " The law of the Lord is
perfect," it is impossible that this
law should be deficient in any par-
ticular requisite for its aim and pur-
pose. But as whatever is written is
open to a difference of opinions, ac-
cording to different views entertained
by various readers, (each of which
may appear the correct one to him
by whom it is entertained,) it became
necessary that verbal comments
should accompany the written law,
in order to fix its true meaning. As
an illustration of what we assert re-
specting variety of opinions- enter-
tained concerning the same passage,
we will instance the well-known de-
claration, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God the Lord is one !" These
words we Israelites understand as
expressing the absolute unity of God ;
others there are, however, who un-
derstand them as expressing some-
thing very different. It was there-
fore indispensable to the perfection
of the law, that a verbal exposition
should put us in possession of the
true meaning of the written law, and
of the manner of performing the
commandments which it enjoins ; so
that no doubt or dispute might create

a difference of opinion. And this
verbal exposition, co-eval with the
written law, was, along with it, trans-
mitted by Moses to Joshua ; by him
to the elders ; by them to the pro-
phets ; and so on, uninterruptedly.
This exposition the' ancients call
ira btflttf nil n, "oral law." Were
it likewise written, it would again
require comment and exposition ;
and so on, in endless continuity, as
is actually the case with the Mishna ;
which is an exposition of the written
law compiled and written down.
But as doubts and perplexities arose
respecting the true meaning of the
compiler, it became necessary to ex-
plain this exposition ; which was
done in the Gemara. This last ex-
planation again required expositions,
which again stood in need of further
explanations ; nor are we even yet,
at the present day, arrived at the end
of these multifarious commentaries.
Moreover, in addition to the neces-
sity that every written instruction
should be accompanied by a verbal
exposition of its true meaning, cor-
rectly transmitted, cases may possi-
bly, in the course of time, and from
peculiar circumstances, arise, which
the Legislator has not met by any direct
enactment ; (as it is impossible that
any code should be framed so as ex-
plicitly to meet every possible case ;)
and which, therefore, require the ap-
plication of those statutes most analo-
gous to the case in question, accord-
ing to the extension given them by
the verbal exposition. And though
the application must be confided to
the divines and tribunals in every
age ; yet the manner of adapting and
making the application, in order to
be legal, must be prescribed by the
verbal exposition, and preserved by
tradition from generation to genera-
tion. That, however, which is explicitly
and clearly expressed in the written
law, or has been declared to be the
true meaning by the verbal exposi-
tion coeval with that law, and cor-
rectly preserved by tradition, cannot
be superseded, abrogated, or altered
by that right of application which
has been confided to the various sage
divines in their respective ages ; be-
cause the written law, according to
its verbal exposition, is the only per-
manent authority. And as it is pos-

MKTAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

363

sible that a difference of opinion
should arise among sage divines re-
specting any subject not elucidated
by the written law and its verbal ex-
position, the Divine Wisdom, in order
to obviate even' inconvenience, has
determined that, in all such cases,
the majority of these sage divines
decide: As it is written, "Inci.ne
thyself after the majority ;" (Exodus
xxiii. 2 ;) and although the minority
may be more highly gifted than
the majority, yet the latter decide,
and the former are bound to abide
by their decision. But by " the majo-
rity "are understood only pious men
and sages ; r.or can the vulgar and
ignorant ever be admitted to cause
or swell that majority ; as it is a
fact confirmed by experience, that
the vulgar are more prone to err
than to admit the truth.

CHAPTER XXIV.

TUE Divine law revealed through
Moses contains three principal and
distinct objects : Wisdom, Will, and
Power. The first teaches the great
truths of religion, and is called
~*~Z~l " words :" As it is said,
rPrtn tZP-mn n«, "These words
spake the Lord unto all your con-
gregation ; " (Deut. v. 22 ;) relating
to that part of the Decalogue which
teaches the knowledge of the exist-
ence of the Deity, his immateriality,
his being the Creator of the universe,
his revelations, and providence, &c.
This knowledge emanates directly
from his own wisdom, by which it is
imparted. The second teaches what
is acceptable unto Him — blessed be
HE ! This emanates from his will ;
nor can any other reason be assign-
ed for its performance than its being
commanded by, and acceptable to,
Him. Such are the prohibitions of
wearing 7:2^:1% "mingled gar-
ments," of sowing mixed seeds, the
law of the red heifer, and others ;
into the reasons for which we cannot
penetrate. These are called Cr^pin,
"statutes," which we are bound to
obey in accordance with the revealed
will of God. The third teaches to
do right and to avoid wrong, in all
dealings between man and man.
This emanates from the power of

God, and is called D'SSll^, " judg-
ments." It is evident that the laws
of civilization cannot comprise either
the firct or the second of these two
objects, as we have already fully de-
monstrated : For the great truths of
religion are altogether beyond the
reach of human reason ; and philo-
sophy is insufficient to come to any
decision ; and it is equally impossi-
ble for man to know the particular
and minute actions which are accept-
able to the Deity. In both instances
Divine revelation is his only in-
structer. The utmost extent of the
la^vs of civilization are therefore li-
mited to the third object; as their
purpose is the endeavour to promote
right, and prevent wrong, between
man and man, to determine the
rights of man, and uphold the insti-
tutions of society. But even in
these objects mature reflection will
show us the insufficiency of the laws
of civilization, their incompetency to
decide with precision, and in every
case to administer real justice. What
human reason is capable of deciding,
what ought to be the just extent of
penalty inflicted on a thief? whether
he is to restore twofold, threefold, or
sevenfold ? Accordingly legislators
vary in their enactments. Some con-
demn the thief to death, be his theft
large or small ; which is altogether •
contrary to reason, inasmuch as there
is no proportion observed between
the crime and its punishment. He
stole property, and he forfeits life.
Other legislators award imprison-
ment, which affords no compensa-
tion to the party despoiled : Whereas
the Divine law apportions the pu-
nishment of the thief with the most
just precision, and according to the
degrees of criminality. He who de-
nies having received that which has
been confided to him, (an inferior
species of theft,) is to restore two-
fold. He who steals a lamb must
restore four-fold ; and for an ox,
five-fold ; thus adapting the amount
of compensation to the extent of in-
jury : And in every case, if- the thief
has not wherewithal to pay the fine.
he is sold for his theft. (Exodus
xxii. 3.) The punishment thus ap-
portioned is in perfect accordance
with the most equitable dictates of

364

COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

justice : He who injures another in
his property must make compensa-
tion in proportion to the utility of
the object abstracted ; and if he has
not wherewithal to make that com-
pensation, his own body must pay,
not by being locked up in a prison,
(thus affording no real compensation
to him who is injured,) but by being
sold, and compelled to work until
the produce of his labour has made
good the compensation awarded by
the law. Should he, however, steal
a human being with intent to sell
him as a slave, no pecuniary punish-
ment can compensate the outrage on
society and violation of the rights of
man which he has committed: His
crime ceases to be a simple theft,
and death is the only adequate pun-
ishment. (Deut. xiv. 7.) All the
Divine enactments respecting man's
duties to society and to his fellow-
men evince the same spirit of the
strictest possible equity and justice ;
and are therefore infinitely superior
to the wavering and arbitrary enact-
ments framed by man, and called
civilization. Accordingly the Sacred
Singer, having, in the one hundred
and forty-seventh Psalm, fixed his
mind on the wisdom, will, and power

of the Creator, and his providential
care of man, concludes, by exclaim-
ing, "He has declared VI 1*1, his
words to Jacob, VtoBtyni Vpltl, his
statutes and his judgments to Israel.
He has not done so to any nation,
and judgments has he not made
known to them. Hallelujah."
(Verses 19, 20.) His meaning is,
that the greatest of all the beneficent
mercies of the Deity he vouchsafed
to bestow on Israel, when he re-
vealed to them Vim, his words,
Vpin, his statutes, and VtOBttfD, Aw
judgments. That he has not done so
to any other nation, not only with
respect to the first two, (which are
altogether beyond the reach of sim-
ple humanity unaided by revelation,)
but that even those judgments which
merely regulate the duties of man
towards his fellow-men and society,
He has not made known (in their
purity and perfection) to those who
took upon themselves the right of
framing laws for their fellow-men.
And so great is the sense of the
Psalmist of the importance of these
mercies, that, at a loss for words
adequately to express his gratitude,
he gives vent to his feelings in the
short but expressive " Hallelujah."

(To be continued.)

III. COMMENTARIES ON HOLY WRIT.

JACOB'S vow.

AND Jacob vowed a vow and said, If God ppTV will be with me, and will preserve me in
this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I
return in peace to my father's house, then ppnV shall the Lord be nay God ; and this
stone which I have erected for a monument nvT shall be God's house ; and of all
that thou givest me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. (Genesis xxviii. 20 — 22.,)

ACCORDING to the above version
it would appear that Jacob proposed
a sort of agreement to the Deity,
and stipulated, that if certain condi-
tions, which he enumerates, were
duly and truly performed in his
favour, then, and in that case only,
the Lord should be his God, and
that he would erect a house to His
worship, and consecrate a tithe of
his property to holy purposes.

It is scarcely necessary to dwell
on the inconsistency of the supposi-
tion, that Jacob — the grandson of

Abraham, to whom the Highest
authority vouchsafes to grant this
testimony, " 1 know him, that he
will command his children and his
household after him, that they shall
observe the ways of the Lord ; "
(Genesis xviii. 19 ; ) — the son of
Isaac, to whom the Lord gave the
assurance, " I am with thee, and
will bless thee ;" (Genesis xxvi. 24 ;)
— that Jacob who has previously, in
Holy Writ, been called tDM U>'H,
" a perfect man," (Genesis xxv. 27,)
should make his faith in the God of

COMMENTARIES OX HOLY WRIT.

365

his fathers dependent on his success
in life. Accordingly, the wording
in the original does not bear out the
construction of the translator, who
falls into the error of mistaking a
conjunctive 1, for a conversive one.
The proper rendering is, " So that I
return in peace to my father's house,
nrTTT'Wr '? "n ivm, and the Lord
has been unto me a God, then this
stone, &c., iTrP, shall be a house of
God." &c. According to this, which
is the true version, it is evident that

the words crnb'rtb ">b "n rrm,

are not a promise for the future, that
the Lord shall he his God, but a
reasoning upon the past, that the
Lord has been his God, or, in other
words, that the Divine protection
and providence has been especially
afforded to him. These words are
thus no part of his vow, which is
confined to the erecting of a house
of prayer, and consecrating a tithe
of his property. His faith in his
God is not conditional, or made a
matter of stipulation ; but he ad-
duces it as a reason why he should
perform the vow which he is about
to make. The simple meaning of
the words he uses is, " If I am pre-
served in this most dangerous
journey, and during my uncertain
absence ; if in my forlorn condition
I find my necessary sustenance ; if,
notwithstanding the enmity of my
powerful and incensed brother, I
may hereafter return in peace to my
father's house : All this must prove
to me, that the same special provid-
ence of the Lord which has hitherto
been my protection will always
attend me : And, therefore, I will
erect a house of prayer to his holy
name, and consecrate to him one
tenth of my possessions ; for what-
ever I have is a gift from him."

Such was the plain and obvious
meaning of Jacob : It is, however,
proper to explain why he at all used
the words. " And the Lord has been
unto me a God ; " and the con-
nexion between these words, — the
building of a house of prayer, and
paying a tithe.

We therefore say, The basis of all
religion is, 1. The belief in the
existence of the Deity. 2. Obedi-
ence to his precepts. To acknow-

3

Jedge the existence of the Deity
abstractedly, is not sufficient to me-
rit the name of religion ; as, in
addition to that acknowledgment,
we are bound to confess, that the
Deity regards the deeds of men.
For, unless that admission is made,
there can be no Divine commands ;
the obedience to which constitutes
what is properly called " Religion."
There is hut little difference between
him who says, " Tnere is no God,"
and him who says, " There is a
God, but He does not concern himself
about mankind." The first of these
two classes Holy Writ declares to he
a fool : As it is written, "The fool
hath said in his heart, There is no
God ; " (Psalm xiv 1 ; ) and Salo-
mon's direction is, " Answer not
the fool in his folly." The second
class is subdivided into two distinct
parties : 1. Those who altogether
deny the Divine intervention in ter-
restrial affairs : 2. Those who assert
that the Supreme Being has dele-
gated that intervention to secondary
powers or influences. Both these
erroneous opinions were at different
times entertained by the Israelites.
With reference to the first, we read :
" The sins of the house of Israel and
of Judah are very great ; the land is
full of blood, and the city is full of
vice : For they say, The Lord has
abandoned the earth, the Lord does
not behold." (Ezekiel ix. 9.) The
second opinion we find in the Pro-
phet : " And Jeremiah was answered
by all the men who knew that their
wives offered incense to other gods,
and by all the women who were pre-
sent, a great assembly, even all the
people who dwell in the land of
Egypt and at Pathros, who all said,
In the word which thou hast told us
in the name of the Lord we will not
obey thee ; for we will assuredly do
all that our mouths have pronounced,
to offer incense to the queen of hea-
ven,and to pour out libations unto
her; as we have done, we, our
fathers, our kings, and our princes,
in the cities of Judah, and the
streets of Jerusalem, when we en-
joyed plenty, were well off, and be-
held no evil. But ever since we
have ceased to offer incense to the
queen of heaven, and to pour out

SCO

COMMENTARIES ON HOI-Y WRIT.

libations unto her, we have been de-
prived of all, and are consumed by
sword and famine." (Jeremiah xxiv.
15 — 18.) This last opinion leads to
idolatry, or the worshipping of
strange gods, and is most strictly
prohibited by the law of Moses, as
tending to pervert mankind to their
own great detriment, by inducing
them to withhold obedience where
alone it is due, and to prostitute,
that homage which ought to be
yielded to the Most High alone,
according to their vitiated ideas.
That the first opinion is not as ex-
pressly prohibited in that law, or
condemned in words as plain and
direct, is not because it is less per-
nicious or false than the other, but
because the whole tenor of the law, its
spirit.and enactments afford thefullest
and most complete refutation of that
absurd idea. The ancients, . how
liable soever to err, seldom disputed
or called in question a Supreme Di-
rection of the universe : Simple chil-
dren of nature, they observed its
operations, and felt that an invisi-
ble Guide directed and presided over
all sublunary as well as all celestial
subjects. They seldom attributed
those operations to chance ; but,
while they owned the supremacy of
rule, the question with them was,
" Who is the ruler ? " The limited
faculties of man in that primitive
age rendered him prone to supersti-
tion, which engendered fabulous
deities, and imposed the worship of
sticks and stones : As his limited fa-
culties in modern times render him
prone to presumption, which engen-
ders arrogance and infidelity, and
imposes the belief in chance as the
author of all that is ; an idea to the
full as ridiculous and pernicious as
idolatry.

These two opinions have ever
borne sway over the mind of man,
unenlightened by revelation. When
the Israelites rebelled against their
Great Benefactor, their question was

p» OK lam pi TJ!?N w>n — ".if

my God is within me or not." (Exo-
dus xvii. 7-) Does my God search
and investigate my inward parts, and
know whatsoever concerns me, or
docs he not regard me ? This doubt
in after-times led to the manifold
sins and punishments of Israel, as

is predicted : " My wrath will be
kindled against them : On that day I
will forsake them arid hide my face
from them : They shall be consumed
and many evils and calamities shall
befall them. And they shall say,
Is it not because my God is not in
me that all these calamities befall
me? But I will hide my face from
them on that day because of all the
evil which they have committed."
(Deut. xxxi. 17, 18.) When the
punishment of their evil deeds befall
them, they cry out, " We suffer be-
cause the Deity does not concern
himself about us or about mankind : "
Whereas they are expressly told,
" I turn my face from you on that
day ; because of your evil deeds I
will for a time turn my face from you,
and you shall be abandoned • "

Belief in the Divine Government,
without which there can be no reli-
gion, was uppermost in Jacob's mind.
Accordingly he says, " If my urgent
wants are supplied, if I escape all
dangers, and, contrary to the ex-
pectation entertained by myself and
those who best know the circum-
stances which forced me to fly, if I
return in peace to my father's house ;
it will thence be proved, that I am
not abandoned to chance or to the
governance of secondary influences,
but that the Lord has been unto me
a God, evincing himself as such by
the especial protection afforded to
me. This great truth it behoves me
to make generally known to man-
kind ; and, therefore, I will raise a
house of prayer to Him to whom all
prayer must be directed, and I will
devote a tenth of my possessions to
His service."

Man is superior to all other ani-
mals, because he acts according to
his own will and determination.
Nevertheless there are certain things
which he does, as it were, intui-
tively, and in common with all other
animals, to which nature has given
certain instincts for their preserva-
tion ; instincts which undoubtedly
are not bestowed in vain, but the jn-
fallible effects of which can be obvi-
ously deduced. Thus, it is as natural
and intuitive to man, that, when in
danger, he should scream, as it is
natural and instinctive to the cat, if
thrown or falling from any height,

MORALITY OF THE RABBlES.

367

so to contract her body that on
alighting on the ground she finds
her centre of gravity en her legs.
Man. when threatened with immi-
nent peril in an absolute wilderness,
where he is sure no human being can
afford him assistance, will neverthe-
less shout and scream, because his
doing so is intuitive and as indepen-
dent of his will as is the action of
putting forth his hands to save his
head when falling. That the cry of
pain is implanted in us by nature,
is proved by the new-born infant,
who, although unconscious of sur-
rounding objects, utters his plaintive
wail.

This intuitive impulse, not to call
it instinct, is not implanted without
a wise purpose : Tlie cries of man
for help, if they reach any human
ear, will procure assistance from his
fellow-men. And such a cry is
prayer. It is innate in man to im-
plore the aid of a Superior Being
when exposed to immediate danger.
Let it not be said that this is the
effect of education alone. Even the
man who has never been taught to
believe in a God, much less to pray,
will, notwithstanding, in the hour of
hi? utmost need, utter some sound of
invocation and of supplication. Xo
man who was in danger of being en-
gulfed by an earthquake, or of
sinking under the billows, ever yet
resigned life, without some involun-
tary exclamation, such a«, " O God ! "
or even a simple " O ! " bursting
from his lips : Nor is the last of these,
though a single plaintive sound, less
a prayer than the first. This most

forcibly demonstrates, that prayer in
its rudest form is intuitive to man ;
and as nature bestows no instinct in
vain, it confirms the words of Holy
Writ : " Then wilt thou call, and
the Lord will answer; thou wilt
scream, and the Lord will reply,
Here I am ! " (Isaiah. Iviii. 9.)
Therefore Jacob vowed to erect a
house to the Lord, that mankind
might there be instructed how and
to whom to pray.

It remains for us shortly to notice,
why Jacob vowed to consecrate a
tenth of his property to the service
of the Lord, and why, previous to
the giving of the law in the days of
Abraham and Melchizedek, and
through the enactments of the law
down to the present times, one part
in every ten has been set aside for
the service of the Lord. The an-
cients assumed the various heavenly
powers and influences to be ten ; to
which those who assigned the go-
vernment of the world to the celes-
tial constellations attributed all the
good that they enjoyed. The wor-
shippers of the true God, therefore,
in order to express the real source
of every good, and their independ-
ence of those ten influences, conse-
crated to him one part in ten of their
increase, whether it were produced
by agricultural or by commercial
pursuits ; thus breaking in upon
the supposed symbolical number,
and evincing their gratitude to their
only true Benefactor : As it is said,
".Every thing is from thee and from
thy hand we give to thee." (iChron.
xxix. 14.)

IV. MORALITY OF THE RABBI 1>

C'p'lS niDltf, Schmonah Perakim Lera i.bam.

EIGHT CHAPTERS OF ETHICS.

BY MAUIONWE*.

(Concluded from page 320.)

WE find it expressly declared by
the prophet Isaiah, that some trans-
gressors are punished by the Deity
through a suspension of their free-
will : As it is said, " The heart of
th:s peo; le shal: be covered with fat,
their ears made heavy, and their eyes
shall be shut ; lest they see with

3

their eyes, hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and turn
and be healed." (Isaiah vi. 10.) The
meaning of these words is so plain
and obvious, that they need no ex-
planation whatever. They are, how-
ever, a most valuable key to many
other obscure and enigmatical pas-

368

MORALITY OF THE RABBIES.

sages. Accordingly, they enable us •
to understand the words of the pro-
phet Elijah, (peace be with him !)
when, speaking of the impious athe-
ists of his time, he says, " Thou hast
turned their hearts back;" that is,
they having sinned according to the
promptings of their will and inclina-
tion, their punishment from thee is,
— that tbou turnest hack their hearts
from repentance, so that they perse-
vere in the course they have adopt-
ed. Thus, likewise, Hosea saith,
" Ephraim confederates with idols :
Let him do so." (Hosea iv. 17.) His
meaning is, As Ephraim, in the free
exercise of his will, has become en-
amoured of idolatry, and prefers ad-
hering to his idols, his punishment
is, that he is abandoned to the indul-
gence in his sin : As it is said, " Let
him do so." He who is accustomed
to profound investigation and mature
reflection, will approve of this expo-
sition.

Very different, however, is the
meaning of the prophet when he
says, "Why, O Lord, hast thou led
us astray from thy ways, and hast
hardened our hearts against thy
fsar?" (Isaiah Ixiii. ]/•) These words
have not the slightest connexion with
our foregoing exposition. Accord-
ing to the context which precedes
and follows our quotation, the pro-
phet meekly mourns over the cap-
tivity and sufferings of his people,
and prays, " O Lord ! if Israel much
longer continues in their present
wretched and miserable state, they will
entirely abandon truth and piety, and
lose sight of thy fear ; as if Thou
wert the cause of that folly which
first made them depart from the path
of rectitude. The surrounding na-
tions will, as thy servant Moses said,
tax thee with want of power." And
he closes his prayer with an invoca-
tion to the Divine Mercy : " Turn
again, for the sake of thy servants
and thine inheritance ; that thy holy
name may not become blasphemed
by the Heathen !"

Having said this, we now return
to our original position ; namely,
that obedience to, or transgression
of, the Divine command, depends
entirely on man's own free and un-
controlled will. He is the master of
his own actions ; whatsoever he

chooses to do he does, and what he
declines doing he leaves undone.
The only exception is, when the
grievous abuse of his free-will, and
the heinous sins thereby caused, are
punished by the Deity with the sus-
pension of man's free agency. It is
likewise entirely in the power of man
to acquire virtue or to sink into vice ;
and it is therefore his duty, zealous-
ly to strive after the attainment of
those moral or mental perfections
which no one but himself can secure
to him. " If I am not concerned for
myself, who besides can be so for
me ?" is the sage reflection of the
pious Hillel.

There is, however, one topic more
relating to this subject which we are
bound concisely to investigate. Our
intention was, to make no allusion
to it, but it is now absolutely need-
ful to the proper understanding of
our subject. This topic is the pre-
science of the Deity ; the great ar-
gument insisted on, by those who
assert that man is predestined by
God to do good or evil ; and that he
has no free agency or will, but is al-
together dependent on the destiny
traced out for him by the Deity.
Their manner of arguing is as fol-
lows : " Did the Deity know before-
hand that such an one is to be wick-
ed or virtuous, or did he not know
it ? " If thou repliest, he knew it,
the consequence is, that the indi-
vidual, according to their theory, was
predestined, or compelled, to be
what the Deity knew he would be-
come ; as otherwise the Divine know-
ledge would be imperfect. If, on
the contrary, the reply is, God does
not know beforehand; such an answer
is inconsistent with the absolute per-
fection of the Godhead, incongruous
in itself, and destructive of the fun-
damental principles of faith. Listen,
therefore, attentively to what I am
now about to say ; afford it thy best
attention, for it is unquestionably the
truth.

It is a standing axiom in meta-
physics, " God does not know by
means of knowledge, or exist by
means of life ;" that is to say, we
cannot separate his knowing and his
being from his own essence. He
and his knowledge are not two dis-
tinct things, as is the case with man ;

MORALITY Of THE RABBIES.

— for man can be distinct from know-
ledge, and knowledge can be distinct
from man ; that is, it is not inherent
in his essence. Thus Divine and
human knowledge are altogether dis-
similar. Were it possible to separate
the knowledge of God from his ab-
solute, inherent, and unconditional
essence, the Deity would be a plu-
rality, or a composite being; as he
would comprise Himself, his know-
ledge, his life, his power, and every
other attribute, distinct from his
essence ; — a supposition which can-
not for a moment be entertained,
since God is absolute unity. It is,
therefore, a positive fact, that the
knowledge of God, like all his other
attributes, is inherent, absolute, and
unconditional in and to his essence.

Another standing axiom in meta-
physics is, " Human reason cannot
conceive the Divine Essence, on ac-
count of the infinite and complete
perfection of God, and man's finite
powers. For as there is in the ex-
istence of the Deity nothing con-
ditional or limited, it is altogether
beyond the reach of our penetration.
The inability of our reason, which
prevents us from understanding His
Essence, is like the inability of our
eyes to gaze on the light of the sun;
it is not caused by any defect in the
solar rays, but by the intrinsic weak-
ness of our sight." Much has been
said in support of this axiom ; which,
however, presents itself to our minds
as a self-evident truth.

From what we have here said, it is
fully demonstrated, that, as it is im-
possible for our reason to have any
adequate conception of the essence
of the Deity, it is equally impossible
for our reason to define his know-
ledge, because his essence and his
knowledge are inseparably but one.
And as those who adduce the pre-
science of the Deity as an argument
in favour of predestination are com-
pelled to admit that his essence can-
not be conceived by human reason,
it is inconsistent that they should
attempt to define his knowledge ; as
they ought to know, that the oqe is
as impossible for human reason to
accomplish as the other. For as the

Divine Knowledge and Essence are
identically the same, were it possi-
ble positively to define his know-
ledge, it would likewise be possible
clearly to have a proper conception
of his essence : For the perfect com-
prehension of His Essence and Being
consists of a positive definition of
His Knowledge, His Eternity, His
Power, His Wisdom, His Will, and
all His other glorious attributes ;
and as they all are infinite, they are
altogether beyond the grasp of finite
reason.

Thus it is evident how utterly fu-
tile is the pretension to define his-
knowledge; as all that we can say is,
" He knows," as we say," He exists,"
without being able to illustrate either
of these sayings. To him, therefore,
who founds his argument in favour
of predestination on the omniscience
and prescience of the Deity, we re-
ply, These his attributes, and the
manner in which they are exercised,
are as incomprehensible to thee as
they are to us, or to any other human
being 5 and Holy Writ checks our
impertinent inquisitiveness on these
subjects, by admonishing us, " Can
thy researches define God ? Canst
thou penetrate the purpose of the
Almighty?" (Job xi. 7-)

Having thus met the last and
strongest argument that can be ad-
duced in favour of predestination,
and shown how utterly unfounded
is the basis on which it rests, we bid
thee " Farewell !" and say, Know that
man's actions depend solely on his
own free-will : He either does right
or wrong according to his own deter-
mination, without being controlled
by fate or predestination. It is
therefore consistent with Divine Jus-
tice to give its commands to man, to
instruct and admonish him and to
reward or punish his conduct. But
the attributes of God, and the man-
ner how his prescience and universal
knowledge are exercised, will ever
remain incomprehensible to us, being
altogether beyond the reach and
grasp of our reason.

Thus have we attained the pur-
pose which we proposed to ourselves
in writing this treatise.

370

To the Editor of the Hebrew Review.

SIR, — If the inclosed little allegory from the nvpy byi, illustrative
of the impulse of the first germs of true knowledge on the mind of our
prog-eriitor and patriarch Abram, be at all deemed worthy of a leaf in
your Review, I shall feel most happy in having- contributed, through
the very humble efforts of my pen, to a work so truly meriting the stre-
nuous and undivided support of the Jewish community, and reflecting
the highest honour on those gentlemen through whose labours it is
edited. I have the honour to subscribe myself with great regard, &c.

London, February 24th, 1835. H.

6, South street, Finsbury.

V. RABBINICAL APOLOGUES.

THE IMPULSE OF THE FIRST GERMS OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE ON
THE MIND OF THE PATRIARCH ABRAHAM ;

AN ALLEGORY FROM THE

DECORATIVELY EMBELLISHED FROM

OTHER HEBREW COMMENTATORS.

IEN, npp-n rivi
m^rt bin vby

n«ii, tnpob tnpoo
yrr, it nvnb

IN elucidation of my subject let
us (says my author) picture to our-
selves a philosopher passing from
clime to clime in the anxious pursuit
of knowledge, when suddenly, in
some lone spot, where no visible
tra^e of man's abode appeared, a
splendidly illumined palace opens to
his view ; amazed awhile, he in con-
templative awe surveys, till thus at
length his silence to his companion
breaks : "It would in this dreary
waste to superficial glance appear, as
though this noble fabric no possessor
owned; yet surely must such impulse
quickly to firm conviction yield, that
nought can possibly be of enchant-
ment reared, but must in truth some
directing hand obey ; for as well
might man, — if on some desert isl-
and cast, and finding there a relic
of the finest sculptor, presume to ex-
claim, Behold the effect of chance,
whilst its mouldering beauties clearly
owned the inventive genius of
remoter days, — as dare assert aught
in this mighty universe to be self-
existent formed. Let us then nearer,
and its attractive beauties more
closely view ; perchance the owner
we shall so attain." Scarcely had our
traveller this exploring wish con-
veyed, when lo, the possessor's self
in his presence stood, and in mild

* R. Isaac ben Moses Arama, vide Heb.
Kov. i<y ]].

TO rpnttf Tn«b
lawn, ioi>
mnn bin »irr ^w

benevolence thus his salutation
spoke : —

" Behold in me the Lord of this
domain, where content and harmony,
in uninterrupted bliss unite! Wel-
come within the portals of its sacred
walls, far more brilliant than its out-
ward dazzling glare. It is the abode
of Wisdom; where, secluded from
the busy scenes of life, hoary sages
dwell ; enter, and with them enrich
thine all-discerning mind, then bear
its gleanings to regions yet un-
blessed."

pi s

Even thus the philosophic mind
of our Patriarch, — whilst combating
flie infidel opinion of then-deluded
man, that this mighty universe was
the mere effect of chance, unguided
and unswayed by that unseen yet
all-directing Power, which rules on
high, whose universal temple all
space supplies ; whose glory was,
and is, and ever shall remain, ma-
jestically triumphant throughout all
nature's works, — more steadfast faith
acquired;, and, contemplating the
vain impious homage paid to heaven's
bright host, whose resplendent centre
but through His unerring will shines
forth, he, in fervent love of the great
God he owned, thus to each orb his

ON HEBREW SYXONYME:-. 371

in ward meditation spoke : "Behold, dancy of night. The Lord of all

thou 4,'rea'er light which rulest the creation's host — his Name ! "

hose genial glow imparts both Reflections such as these flash'd

.d sustenance to all, yet surely across and wrought conviction on our

: not be that Deity, by all nature Patriarch's mind. The Almighty

recognised the Eternal King ; for Creator, holding him firm in faith,

thy might recedeth with declining from his high throne above, rejoiced in

day, aod giveth place unto the silvery the contemplations of his righteous

moon, soft antidote to thy parching mind ; and, through his pious love,

; nor yet canst thou, O gentle resolved again to lead mankind, His

moon, that Sovereign Power be, unto choicest work, from darkness into

whom all creation adoration pours ; everlasting light. Wherefore to him

for at morn's summons thou, too, He thus His mandate graciously re-

again resignest thy cheering bright- vealed: " Behold in me theAlmigbty

to the great orb of day ; nor yet King of all, that eternal Power, that

can ye, ye twinkling stars of heavtn, ruling Hand, thou hast well sought

celestial poicer alone assume, but to ascertain ; go thou, my Name

each, in the elevated splendour of its make manifest throughout the world;

sphere, glory and praise incessantly depart thee hence and leave thy na-

ascribes to the great master-hand of tive land ; thy kindred spot, thy fa-

Him whose wisdom formed them all ; ther's house forsake ; for that abode

who gave the sun alike the rule of I will make known to thee."
day, the moon and stars the ascen-

VI ON HEBREW SYNONYMES.
(Continued from page 318.)

" particles of negation, denial, or refusal, are not indiscriminately
iivr-.i in Hebrew, but have their particular application: ~i* and r*7 are
negations of action ; p« negates the existence of a subject. The
former, therefore, are placed before verbs, the latter before substan:
only. If you are asked, •* Was any person here ? " your negative
answer would be in Hebrew, p»; "Did anyone stand here?" your
reply i-. -*;—:**?. There is, however, so nice a distinction between 7K
and j*r. as connected with the character of the verbs, that they require
some further explanation.

In Hebrew we have no auxiliary verbs, nor specific terms, to modifv
or qualify them ; such as, "could, can. might, must, ought." &e. All
these inflexions are generally understood according to the context, in the
verbs themselves. From rrj»" we *ay. ;r ~^~," s~. "It ought
nnt to be done so in our place." From rr\ "can."
find, -rr nrz* t*r\ " She could no longer conceal him : " (Exod. ii. 3 :)
±::'~ ?r •""«:. " The people dare or must not, go up to the mount:"
(Exodus xix. 21 :) "In the evening. i-rtO, you must eat leavened
bread:" (Exod. xii. 18:) nix «p1, " And he would not send them
away." (Exod. xiv. 15.) * We are also in want of signs to distin-
guish the subjunctive from the indicative moods ; but they are in a
manner expressed by ':>» placed before the future tense, which may-
be considered optatively, or supplicatively ; in some cases expressive of
hope: As, "ib'Tr moa rmiM-pK, '-That I may not see the death of the
child;" (Gen. xxi. 16;) in others as inspiring confidence:
— -rtf K -T"}*. "Fear not. Abram ; " (Gen. xv. 1 ;) or cautionary :

In Rabbinical Hebrew we find these modifications in separate words : A^ -.x--^- •• I
:••-?, " must ; " nTCT7 rW\, " he ought to do it ; " -p-rr, •• be .

372 OX HEBREW SYNOXYMES.

lbrH?N, "My son, do not walk in the way with them."
(Prov. i. 15.) We therefore find i>« often joined to to, which is
nttfpl pttf^, "the language of supplication:" As, ni'lD >nn «rb»,
"Pray let there he no more strife;" (Gen. xiii. 8:) liniK ITyn KJ-^H,
" Pray forsake us not : " (Num. x. 31.) And, when bx is joined to a noun,
it expresses its opposite : AsniD~b», "not-death, immortality; " Dlp~l?»,
"not to rise against, irresistible." But t*b is always absolute and
unconditional; and, when placed before the future of the verb, is
imperative: As, nmrrN^, "Thou shalt not kill," HiJirrKb, "Thou
shalt not steal," and numerous others. And, being thus impera-
tive, we cannot say, «r«b, as we say, »rb», "Pray do not." The
particle «b, in conjunction with adjectives, gives them a negative
signification: As, liTtfb, " powerless ;" (Proverbs — ) T-on-wb, "un-
just, impious." And, when joined to nouns, it signifies a contrary .
meaning to that expressed in the noun : As, O^rrN1?, "unwise, fool-
ish;" 11T»V, "nothing;" b«~«^, "one that is no god;" tD}T«i?,
" those which are no people ; " which Mendelsohn rendered, in his
German version, in one word: !?«-»!?, " ungotteren ; " tDj?-«^,
" unvolk." (Deut. xxxii. 21, 22.)

«b is often found with the interrogative n: As, »^>rr, "Is it not?"
or with the ablative 1 : As nan N!?!, " not with the sun." (Job xxxiii. 28.)
These servile letters are never prefixed to b«.

And it is worthy of notice, that both xb and b«, denoting prohibition,
are found in one verse: Qlb lU>i>n «i> rrDDD;rt!?«1 tZPi>^«i-ri>N li&fi-btf,
"Turn not to idols, nor make any molten gods." (Lev. xix. 4.) This
rather confirms our position. njQ signifies, "to turn or incline towards
a thino'." The inclination towards idolatry, although sinful, is not such a
crime as the making of idols. Therefore, the cautionary particle b» is
put to the former, and «^ to the latter.

The nn!?nn ''Din, who certainly were aware that b« is not so
imperative as bO, and fearing lest any prohibition in >M would not be
considered so binding as it must be with fc^,, have laid it down as a
rule, fiU»HT«b »b» 13^ b«1 f£T1DUm lo«iti; DTpa i?3, "Wherever
the words, ' Take heed lest,' or b» is used, they imply a prohibiting
commandment." Thus we have endeavoured to explain the distinction
between the first two particles.

p«, as has been before noticed, expresses a negation of the existence
of a subject; but it nevertheless implies the verb n^n, " to be," or ty,
"it is;" and it is equivalent to w wb: As, 1111 P]DV p«, "Joseph is
not in the pit:" (Gen. xxxvii. 29;) p«l f» ty'«l, "And there is no
man on the earth." (Gen. xix. 31.) Hence it is often used with the
participle «1: As, «1 p«l «VV p», " There was no going out, and no
coming in." (Josh. vi. 1.) ^ p« is the usual expression for, "1 have
not;" br p«, for, "nothing at all."

p« is often used with 1, and may be rendered, "without:" As,
noin pwi, "without the wall;" (Ezek. xxxviii. 11 j) or, "before:"
As, moinrrpKl, "before the deep." (Prov. viii. 24.) And, when the
personal pronouns are the subject of the proposition, they are affixed to
pM: As, ^:>s*,"Iam not;" l^W, " Thou art not ;" o:>«, or, poeti-
cally ID^^M, "They are not. And here, also, lies the difference between
«!? and p« ; for n«1 *j3*« signifies, " I see not ; " but n»T«l? requires the
separate pronoun to follow, and we must say, >i:» n»1 M^, I do not see.
The above critical distinctions between the three particles of negation
accord with every part in Scripture wherever they occur.

LONDON :— Printed by .James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE

VOL. I.

TWELFTH DAY OF ADAH, 5595.
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1835.

Xo. 24.

J. THE MISHNA.

iZ* , Mescheth Aboth : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

P^P p. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS VE5SELY.

(Continued from page 360.)

HE* farther said, " Do His will, as if it were thine own, and He will grant thy will as
if it were His own. Annul (or give vp) thy will before His will, and He will annul
(or frustrate) the will of others before thy will.'' (II. 5.)

:MENTARY. Do His will, as if it
were thine oten, fyc. — Our teacher in-
structs the righteous man in the
highest degree of piety. " It is not
sufficient," says he, " in cases where
human inclinations gainsay the will
of God, to obey the Divine com-
mands reluctantly, and under a pain-
ful struggle with our own rebellious
desires ; but the truly righteous
must obtain so perfect a command
over -himself, that active obedience
to the will of the Deity must cause
him no pain, and cost him no strug-
gle, but must become the spontane-
ous and unimpeded dictate of his
own free-will, and be identified
therewith. And, when man has
thus completely subjugated all his
desires, so that his own will merges
into perfect obedience to the will
of his Creator, his reward, as our
teacher tells him, is commensurate :
For, whilst a wise and beneficent
Providence generally grants to good
men the accomplishment of such of
their desires as are really conducive

to' their true happiness, here and
hereafter, he; whose will is entirely
absorbed in obedience to his Great
Benefactor has granted to him what-
soever he wishes : As, his will
being always in accordance with,
and subordinate to, the commands
of his Creator, his reward from Pro-
vidence is, that he wishes for no-
thing but what is really conducive
to his true happiness.

Annul thy will, fyc. — As his former
maxim relates to active, or positive,
so does the present to passive or
negative, obedience. It is not suffi-
cient that thou constrainest thyself
to abstain from that which the law
of thy God has prohibited ; but thy
own will must be so perfectly pros-
trated before His, that whatever His
law forbids must not at all excite
thy desire. The reward of this per-
fect resignation is, as our teacher
tells us, that, whenever the desires
of others are opposed to thy happi-
ness, they will not be granted.

HII.LEL said, " Do not separate thyself from the community. Place no reliance on
thyself till the day of thy death. Judge not thy neighbour until then art placed in
his situation. Say not, It i* impossible fucft a thiny should become knuicn ,• a -
nally, it is sure to he known. Say not, ffhen I have perfect leisure I tciil study
the law ; perhaps thou mayest never have perfect leisure.'' (II. 6.)

COMMENTARY. Hillel said — In sage gives us various rules of prac-
his usual sententious manner this tical morality, and worldly wisdom

• Rabbon Gamaliel, the son of Rabbena HakaJo-h.
3 c

374

THE MISHNA.

Though Hille.l lived two centuries
prior to R. Jehuda Hanassi, yet, as
the various maxims hitherto enume-
rated were those of his descendants,
who wished to preserve his sayings,
these are here introduced in order
not to break the chain of tradition,
which subsequently re-commences
with R. Jochanan ben Sachai.

Do not separate thyself from the
community — The pious Hill el, whose
maxims are all fraught with the
most pure morality, does not merely
mean to tell us, that we are not to
separate ourselves from the com-
munity, in order to throw off that
wholesome restraint which it exer-
cises over our conduct, and the
more freely to indulge our inclina-
tions ; for he who does so is an evil-
doer. His meaning is, on the con-
trary, If thou feelest within thyself
the power of superior purity and
sanctity, and fcarbourest the wish to
devote thyself entirely to the wor-
ship of thy Gcd, and the service of
his law, do not, therefore, contemn
the community of which thou art a
member. Do not say, " Because
they are more immersed in worldly
pursuits than myself, and do not so
completely give themselves up to
the adoration of the Most High as I
do, they are not worthy that I
should associate with them. A man
of my sanctity ought to separate
from such a worldly-minded com-
munity." Be assured that such re-
flections are sinful, not the offspring
of piety, but of vanity and ambition,
which prompt thee to raise thyself
in thine own estimation and that of
others, at the expense of thy bre-
thren, members of the same com-
munity, and of whose true worth thou
art not called upon to constitute thy-
self the judge. Our instructor, more-
over, gives us the wise counsel, not
to stand isolated and alone in the
world, but always to adhere to a com-
munity, the weal or woe of which we
share. We shall find this advice
good even in our ordinary affairs ;
for union gives strength ; and the
more closely united a community is,
the more prosperous will become the
individual members of which it is
composed.

Place no reliance on thyself, tyc. —
Among the many wise rules of this

great teacher, on which we have al-
ready commented, there are few, if
any at all, more important than the
one to which we are now about to give
our attention. In every respect, re-
ligious, moral, or secular, this maxim
is alike wise and salutary. In a religi-
ous andmoral point of view, our teacher
tells us, " Do not believe thyself so
firm in thy principles, so steadfast in
thy faith, that it is impossible for thee
to stumble. Do not place too great
confidence in thy strength of mind,
or mastery over thy passions, so as
to hold thyself assured of victory,
whatever temptations may assail thee.
Do not flatter thyself that thou alone
art exempt from the frailties of hu-
man nature, and standest upright by
thy own unaided might ; and that,
therefore, thou needest not implore
support from above. Know that
man on earth is in a continued state
of warfare with his own passions and
desires, nor can he claim the victory
until the battle is ended; and, though
he may vanquish his stubborn de-
sires in many an ardent contest, yet
let him not thence infer, that, be-
cause often victor, he is to be always
victorious. Know, the more highly
exalted a man is above his fellows,
by his religious and moral qualities,
the more fierce are the assaults of
temptation which he has to sustain :"
As our Rabbies said,

•nom bii: m^ mho b*n:n bs,

" Whosoever is greater than his
neighbour, his passions are likewise
greater." And though man's chief
merit consists in subjugating his pas-
sions, and resisting the assaults of
temptation, yet, that he may do ei-
ther, he needs the support of Hea-
ven. Let him every day pray to an
all-merciful God not to expose him
to temptation; and let him in no case
blindly confide in his own strength,
and rashly provoke that trial which
he might avoid ; but let him be con-
stantly on his guard against himself,
and against the most dangerous foe
that can beset him, — over-weening
self-confidence. Nor is the maxim
of our teacher less important in a
worldly point of view ; and we are
certain that, were it more generally
adopted, less unhappiness would be
found amongst men than at present.
Man is generally prone to trust too

THE MISU.VA.

375

much to his own understanding and
abilities ; however distrustful of
others, his self-confidence is un-
bounded. But were we to consult
some aged man, and ask him can-
didly to tell us whether, in his un-
dertakings, he had not generally been
led into error from too great a reli-
ance on his po'.vers, the answer would
probably be, " Yes ; such has been
my fate. Those efforts from which,
as I expected, the greatest happiness
would have resulted, have generally
been failures, attended with the bit-
terest disappointment. I wish I had
my time to come over again, to be
once more young, but possessed of
my present experience." Such would
be the candid reply of the most pros-
perous old man ; and such is the
lesson which his experience offers,
and which ought not to be lost 0:1 us.
Therefore our instructer tells us,
" Place no reliance on thyself, until
the day of thy death." Do not con-
sider thy understanding and talents
as above the general standard of hu-
man abilities. Whatever thou doest,
reflect maturely, and, if thou failest,
be not disappointed, but know that
thou, like all other men, art liable to
err. Remember that fortune is
fickle, prosperity transient. What-
ever thou art, and whatever thou
possessest, should, therefore, not in-
spire thee with presumptuous self-
confidence ; for, in the midst of thy
arrogant aspirations, our teacher re-
calls to thy memory the day of thy
death. Then, and then only, may
the review of thy past actions enable
thee to say, " I have fought, and I
have conquered."

Judge not t/ty neighbour until thou
art placed in his situation — The in-
tention of our teacher is not here to
tell us, that we are not to judge or
decide disputes between our neigh-
bours, if called upon to do so, or to
administer justice according to the
laws, if such is our office ; for thesa
are duties the performance of which
society has a right to claim, and
from which no man to whom they
are confided can withdraw himself.
The judgment which our teacher
cautions us against, is the opinion
pronounced of the moral worth and
virtue of another man, and of his
conduct. His maxim teaches us, that

no man is capable of correctly ap-
preciating the conduct of another,
unless placed in precisely similar cir-
cumstances, and influenced by the
same motives. And, as this can
scarcely ever be done, we should not
presume to condemn that which we
cannot fully investigate. Further,
the heart of man is an abyss which
no one can fathom ; but, were it even
possible that we could read what
passes there, we should still be un-
able to form a correct judgment.
The moral character of man is sub-
ject to numberless influences. His
constitutional habits, the clime of
his birth, his education, his asso-
ciates, the objects which are most
frequently present to his mind, ex-
ercise a degree of power over his
mind, and inclinations, and feelings,
so different in various individuals,
that it is next to impossible to find
any two who think and feel precisely
alike on any subject. Where then is
the standard by which a man is to
be guided, ere he forms his opinion :
Our teacher, therefore, tells u,s,
" Until thou art placed in precisely
similar circumstances, and influenced
by the same motives, which, from
the great diversity of thought and
feeling, can never be, do not pre-
sume to judge or condemn any man.
There is but one Judge, the great
Omniscient Author of all, who
searcheth the heart and inward parts,
and giveth unto every man according
to the fruit of his own doings : But
thou, O man, do not presume to
brand thy neighbour with the name
of wicked or evil : Rather say, ' He
is unfortunate, because he yielded to
an influence that caused him to do
evil.' "

Say not, "It is impossihle sir-
thing should be known,'' tyc. — There
are transgressions, which, were it
possible to keep them concealed,
would appear to the corrupt in
nation of man as no transgressions
at all. It is against these most i:
ous, because most tempting, offences
that this maxim of our teacher is
directed . It does not attempt t j
argi;e the offender out of his mis-
take, that these actions are not sin-
ful provided he can succeed in keep-
ing them concealed, but it cautions
him not to flatter him . the

3 c -2

THE JIISHNA.

chimerical idea, that the offence he is
about to commit will escape detec-
tion ; and, therefore, tells him posi-
tively, " Eventually it is sure to be
known." There is an all-seeing Eye,
whom nothing escapes. Man ought
therefore so to act, that he may have
nothing to be ashamed of, or to wish
concealed, even though all his ac-
tions should be open to general in-
spection.

Do not say, " When I have perfect
leisure," fyc. — Our teacher, who has
already, on a former occasion, taught
us the value of time, continues his
lesson, by pointing out the danger
of delays in all things, but particu-
larly in matters connected with re-
ligion. " Do not," he says, " give
the exclusive preference to worldly
matters, so as to delay the care of
thy immortal soul until thy fortune
be made, or till thou hast acquired
a competence, or till such success

attends thy avocations and pursuits
that thou canst afford to spare a lei-
sure hour to that which, in justice to
thyself, ought to be the principal ob-
ject of thy attention. If such is thy
determination ; if God's holy law is
to await the hour of perfect leisure
which thy multifarious occupations
permit thee to set apart ; rest assured
that hour will never come. For,
though our teacher says, as if in
doubt, " Perhaps thou mayest never
be at perfect leisure," yet it is fact,
approved by experience, that he who
suffers his mind to be engrossed by
the transient affairs of this world to
that degree that he adjourns his first
duties until a more convenient pe-
riod, will seldom see that period
arrive. In all things, but particu-
larly in the performance of thy du-
ties towards thy Creator, remember
the precious maxim of this sage
teacher, " If not now, when ? "

He also said, "The TO, 'ignoramus,' fears not sin. The ywn OS, 'worldly minded,'
cannot be pious. The ro«3, ' timidly bashful,' cannot learn. TlienEp, 'querulous,'
(peevish,) cannot be a teacher. Not every one who is extensively engaged in com-
merce becomes wise. And, in a place where there are no men, do thou endeavour to
become a man." (II. 7.)
COMMENTARY. The Til "igno-
ramus," fears not sin — The word Til
is,in common Rabbinical phraseology,
used to express a man who is utterly
ignorant of his religious duties.
Such an one, our teacher tells us,
cannot fear sin, as that fear is in-
spired only by a knowledge of reli-
gion and its holy laws ; and he who
possesses that knowledge is no
longer a Til. Man is not to sup-
pose that the feeling of religion is
the offspring of fear. On the con-
trary, without the feelings of religion,
man would know no fear. As a
member of society, he may be afraid
of offending against its enactments,
because his punishment is direct and
palpable ; but sin, the feeling of
having infringed the laws of the
Deity, and fear of its consequences,
can be entertained by him only who
knows what religion dictates. Our
teacher does not tell us, that the Til
is condemned for his ignorance; but
he points out to us the effect pro-
duced on the soul by the ignoralice
of religion, in contrast to that pro-

d uced by the knowledge thereof.
The pN TTcy, " worldly -minded"

cannot be pious — The human mind
is so constituted, that it cannot at
the same time contain two govern-
ing principles ; but the one which is
paramount naturally absorbs, or, at
least, subjects, all others. He whose
mind is fixed on heaven, who feels
that his stay in this world is but
transient, and preparatory to a bet-
ter state of existence, will not per-
mit his terrestrial pursuits, his cares,
or his pleasures, to divert him from
the great principle which influences
all his actions, and tells him, "Obe-
dience to thy God before all things."
He, on the contrary, who permits
his thoughts to be led astray by the
petty griefs and petty pleasures, the
idle efforts and the vain success, of
this world, will become so entirely
absorbed by his futile cares and pur-
suits, that no worthier idea can find
room in his mind. The former, a
sojourner on earth, forgets not that
he is destined to become a citizen of
heaven ; — the latter, fixed to the
globe on which he dwells, can spare
no thought to stray beyond its con-
fines : — The former is pious ; the
latter cannot be so. He may be vir-

THt MIsHN.'. .

377

tuous, in the worldly acceptation of
the word ; he may not injure his
neighbour or commit any direct of-
fence ; but he cannot be pious, and
ready to sacrifice every thing, even
life, to his God.

The ]^-'~, " timidly bashful,"
'cannot learn. — Praiseworthy as is the
quality of modesty, yet it is detri-
mental for the youthful student to
permit timid bashfulness to sway his
mind. That which he knows not
he fears to inquire about, because he
is ashamed to expose his ignorance.
His timidity depicts the acquisition
of knowledge as impossible, and be-
yond his reach ; his bashfulness im-
presses him with a feeling of infe-
riority, which, in itself, is the greatest
bar to his progress. Our teacher,
having thus, in few words, pointed
out the fatal consequence of over-
bashfulness, leaves it to us to draw
the inference, that, as timidity ren-
ders the student unfit to learn, intre-
pidity is his first virtue. It will
teach him that whatever is possible
to others is likewise possible to him,
and that application and persever-
ance overcome the greatest ob-
stacles.

The p£p, " querulous" (peecish)
man, cannot be a teacher — Xo pur-
suit in life requires patience in so
eminent a degree as that of a teacher ;
as nothing is so apt to excite anger,
and weary the mind, as having
wasted repeated explanations on a
person incapable of comprehending.
Our teacher, therefore, tells us that
whosoever takes upon himself the
duty of teaching others must arm
hhnself with patience and equani-
mity. And, if these qualities are
most needful to him who is to guide
the youthful in the ordinary path of
human knowledge, they are equally
so to him who is to direct the youth-
ful and the aged in the most import-
ant of all knowledge, that of the
law of God.

^ot every one who is extensively en-
gaged in commerce becomes wise — Our
teacher, himself most sage, alludes
to the ordinary knowledge of the
world. He allows that extensive
commerce and intercourse with man-
kind contribute to polish the mind,
but he does not assume, as a necessa-
ry consequence of that intercourse —

that it must needs make men wise.
Wisdom, in the sense of our teacher,
is not gained by commerce, or other
worldly pursuits, alone. The aim
and object of those pursuits must be
directed to other than mere terres-
trial concerns, to merit the name of
wisdom. And though he does not
exclude any class or profession from
the attainment of that wisdom, he is
far from allowing it to be the neces-
sary consequence of such avoca-
tions.

And, in a place where there are no
men, do thou endeavour to become a
man — Humility is a' most praise-
worthy quality, and is well known
to be considered as the first of mu-
ral virtues, according to the spirit of
the Jewish religion. Holy Writ
praises no quality or perfection of
the greatest of prophets, Moses, ex-
cept only his humility ; of which it
states that " the man Moses was
very humble, more so than all
the men who are upon the face of
the earth." (Numbers xii. 3.) And
this it does because true humility is
an epitome of every other virtue.
As, on the contrary, haughtiness is the
epitome of every vice, as the Psalmist
saith, " The wicked in the pride of
his wrath considereth not; in all his
thoughts there is no God." (Psalm
x. 4.) Accordingly, in all the
sage maxims of the tanaim, humi-
lity is recommended as the first of
virtues. Our teacher, however,
points out to us a case in which hu-
mility is not compatible with our
duty. He says, " It is true, as se-
veral tanaim have taught us, that no
man should arrogate to himself the
office of teacher, leader, or head of
his community ; but, if it should be
thy fate to dwell in a place where
there is no one more competent than
thyself worthily to fill those offices
which the welfare of the community
requires should be manfully admi-
nistered, do not thou shrink from
the performance of a duty which the
necessities of the times impose on
thee. And, though thy own feelings
of humility tell thee thou art unfit
to be the guide of others, yet thou
must submit to the burthen imposed
on thee, and devote thy best endea-
vours worthily to perform thy task."

(To be continued.)

3X8

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim .- "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALSO.
(Continued from page 364.)

CHAPTER XXV.

A PHILOSOPHER of my acquaint-
ance, with whom I had some argu-
mentation, maintained, that "in order
to come to a correct judgment of a
thing, we must bestow due consider-
ation on its material, form, origin,
and tendency. If we subject the
law of Moses to this four-fold or-
deal, we find it defective in every
one of these respects. For, with re-
gard to the materials, they are hete-
rogeneous ; as we find therein nar-
ratives which have no connexion
whatsoever either with laws or re-
ligion. Concerning its origin, it
(the law of Moses) is defective, be-
cause it occupies itself but little with
those Divine and sublime mysteries,
on which faith in the Deity and his
attributes is founded, and which
alone throw a light on his essence.
Respecting its tendency, it is imper-
fect, being altogether silent about
the eternal felicity of the soul, which
is the chief aim of all religious in-
struction, and limiting its promises
to temporal happiness alone. In re-
ference to the form, it is inadequate
to its purpose ; for, in order that a
religious system be perfect, it must
comprise three things : 1. The du-
ties of man towards his Creator ; the
ritual which prescribes the worship
and service of the Deity, and is
called ceremonial. 2. The duties of
man towards his fellow-men ; the
law which prescribes his conduct to-
wards other men, or towards the
society of which be is a member,
and is called judicial. 3. The du-
ties of man towards himself; the
code which prescribes his know-
ledge of himself, that he may culti-
vate good qualities, and eschew evil
ones, and it is called moral. But," con-
nued he, " in each of these three
points the law of Moses is unsatis-
factory. For the ceremonial of that
law commands the slaughtering of
animals, the burning of flesh and fat,
the sprinkling of blood, which is al-
together disgusting ; whereas, the
offering of bread and wine is far
more cleanly. Its judicial enact-

ments direct to take usury from a
stranger, thus making a distinction
detrimental to human society. lU
further commands, that he who is
guilty of involuntary homicide is to
seek an asylum until the death of
the high priest ; and as this event
might sometimes take place soon,
and at others, at a remote period,
an indefinite and variable punish-
ment is thus inflicted for offences of
the same kind. Moreover, it aban-
dons the homicide to the avenger
of the blood, should the former quit
his asylum ; and grants impunity to
the latter, should he slay him: Thus
the premeditated murderer remains
unpunished, and the unfortunate
man, who has innocently caused the
death of another, remains una-
venged ; a system contrary to every
true feeling of justice and civiliza-
tion, which requires that no blood
should be shed except by the deci-
sion of a tribunal duly constituted,
and competent to judge. The mo-
ral code of the Mosaic law confines
all its precepts to action, but does
not watch over that purity of mind,
which religion ought principally to
enforce." These were the objections
which this philosopher opposed to
the law of Moses. We, however,
succeeded in proving to him, that
these objections were unfounded,
contrary to truth, and could only
result from ignorance of, and a
slight and superficial acquaintanpe
with, our holy law. We commenced
with an introduction, the truth of
which human reason cannot deny.
Whatever narration demands our
faith, must, although the facts it
relates may be contrary to the ordi-
nary course of nature, be possible ;
that is to say, the facts must, never-
less, be within the reach of reason,
so that it can form an idea of their
possibility. This we have more at
large demonstrated in the twenty-
second chapter of our first division.
For events may be contrary to the
ordinary course of nature, — as, the
crossing of the Red Sea, and other
similar wonders, wrought by Moses
and the prophets ; yet it is not

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RAKBIES.

379

impossible to the omnipotent Creator
of nature to bring about such
events if he pleases ; and reason
can, therefore, conceive that, when
such was his pleasure, these deeds
became not only possible, but were
actual facts- But, on the contrary,
narrations, the possibility of which
human reason cannot at all con-
ceive, or assertions that a thing
is, and is not, at the same
time, cannot claim our faith : As,
for instance, that the identical
body should at one and the same
time be in two different places ; that
a unit should at the same time be
two distinct units. Such assertions
as these human reason rejects as
impossible ; nor can it be attributed
to the Deity, that he renders possible
that which in itself is impossible ;
any more than it can be attributed to
Him that he can create another being
who in every possible respect shall
be His equal ; or that he can
form a square, each side of which
shall be equal to the diagonal line ;
or that what is passed should be yet
to come. All these things are ut-
terly impossible in themselves ; nor
can Divine Omnipotence be taxed
with rendering them possible. Faith
in impossibilities like these cannot
be entertained, and, if entertained,
cannot contribute to perfection. For,
were it possible that a belief, con-
trary to the dictates of reason could
contribute to perfection, man would
have no advantage over other ani-
mals ; as he may not make use of
his reason, and obey its dictates.
After having stated this, by way of
introduction, we now proceed to
meet the objections urged, as before
stated. The reply to the first objec-
tion, namely, the materials, or con-
tents of the sacred records : Xo
narration is there to be found that is
superfluous, and not necessary to
religion, knowledge, or morality,
or which does not aid the exposition
of some great command. Even the
words, " And Timnah was the con-
cubine of Eliphaz the son of Esau,''
(Genesis xxxvi. 11,) were necessarily
introduced in order to distinguish
Amalek, who, by the law, was doomed
to extermination, from the other de-
scendants of Esau, respecting whom
it is said, " Thou shall not detest

the Edomite, for he is thy brother."
(Deut. xxiii. S.) Whatever narrative
is introduced into Holy Writ has its
cause and reason, as is well known
to the profound searcher ; nor is any
one found in vain. The second ob-
jection, relative to the origin of the
Mosaic law, is altogether unfounded.
On the contrary, the glorious attri-
butes of the Deity are no where so
fully described as in this law. Such are
the unity and immateriality of God ;
his being inconceivable to man ; as
is said, " Man cannot behold me
and live." (Exodus xxxiii. 14.) We
are, also, there taught that all that
man can conceive of the Deity are
those attributes by which He (blessed
be HE!) governs his creatures. Thus,
when Moses prayed, " I beseech
thee make known unto me thy ways,
that I may know thee," &c., the
Deity revealed to him the thirteen
attributes with which he governs the
world, and which man may compre-
hend in a greater or less degree, ac-
cording to his mental and moral per-
fection. But the Divine Essence it
is impossible for man to comprehend.
This law likewise denies and de-
nounces the belief of the Deity being
at all material ; as it is said, " Take
ye, therefore, good heed unto your-
selves, for ye saw no manner of simi-
litude," &c. (Deuteron. iv. 15.) Hie
third objection, respecting its ten-
dency, is likewise untrue ; for, so
far from the law limiting its promises
to temporal happiness, it contains
sufficient indications of a future
state, as we shall more fully demon-
strate in our fourth division. We
therefore only observe that, as the
nation had constantly before their
eyes a succession of wonders, not
only whilst in the desert, but also
when settled in the promised land,
some of which even continued in the
second temple, though prophecy had
ceased ; such as, that every harvest
preceding the sabbatical year pro-
duced sufficient for three years' con-
sumption ; that though the whole male
population every tabernacle assem-
bled at Jerusalem, yet no hostile
invasion was ever at that period at-
tempted ; as it is written, <; Neither
shall any man desire thy land, when
thou goest up to appear before the
Lord thy God;" (Exod. xxxiv. 24 ;)

380

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RARBIES.

these wonders cannot have failed to
impress the entire nation with the
conviction of a future state. For,
not only did these miracles serve to
attest the truth of their faith,
but they must likewise have taught
them, that the soul of man is im-
mortal, emanated from the Source
of life and immortality, who does not
interrupt the ordinary course of na-
ture for creatures whose existence is
but temporal. The only remaining
objection is that offered to the form or
manner in which the law of Moses
conveys its doctrines ; and this, too,
is such as to prove at once the super-
ficial acquaintance of the objector
with that law, of the true merits
of which he is altogether ignorant.
In each of the three subjects into
which he divides his objection, the
law of Moses offers the most perfect
system of instruction that can any
where be found. 1. Relating to
rituals and ceremonials. It recom-
mends prayers ; as is written, " Ye
shall serve the Lord your God." The
service of man towards his God con-
sists in prayers, as is fully proved by
our Rabbles in the Talmud, (treatises,
Baba-Kamah, folio 22, and Baba-
Meziah, folio 100,) and as we shall,
with the help of God, demonstrate in
our Fourth Division. It likewise di-
rects us to love and to fear the Lord ;
as it is written, " Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God." "Thou shalt fear
thy God." " The Lord thy God shalt
thou fear, and him thou shalt serve."
The sacrifices which the law enacts
were, as many of our Sages main-
tain, instituted in order to prevent
the people from falling into idolatry,
and adopting the rites used at the
worship of strange Gods. Accord-
ingly the Prophet says, " I spoke
not to your fathers, and I did not
command them, on the day I brought
them out from the land of Egypt,
concerning burnt-offerings or sacri-
fices ; but this thing I commanded
them, saying, Obey my voice." (Jere-
miah vii. 22, 23.) Many others of
our Sages, however, maintained that
the sacrifices were instituted with an
essential aim and purpose; and if
we adopt their opinion, we should
say, that such were enacted in order
to strike the heart and mind of the
sinner with the following reflection :

"The animal which I have immolated
was but now alive, and in the fulness
of its vigour ; it is now utterly con-
sumed, and nothing of it is left, but
the act of having sacrificed it in obe-
dience to the Divine will and plea-
sure, as expressed in the book of the
law. I too must die ; my firm-set
limbs will be consumed, and of me,
too, nought will survive and remain
but obedience to the will of my
Creator." Nor can these sacrifices in
any case be called disgusting, as it
is an established fact that they were
acceptable to the Deity, as was proved
by the fire from heaven descending
and consuming the burnt-offering
and the fat on the altar, as was the
case with Moses in the tabernacle,
with David in the barn of Araunah,
with Solomon in the temple, and with
Elijah on Mount Carmel. The glory
of the Lord dwelt visibly among the
Israelites on the spot where the sacri-
fices were brought ; Divine inspira-
tion and prophecy were afforded to
sage and holy men ; the High Priest
predicted future events by means of
the Urim and Thummim ; facts well
known to, and attested by, an entire
nation : But in every other system,
ritual or ceremonial, assuming to be
Divine worship, no real and continu-
ous wonder was ever seen and uni-
versally acknowledged, as was the
undoubted case with the worship of
the law. And when these other sys-
tems pretend to a salutary influence
on the soul and its felicity, such a
pretension is unsupported either by
reason or t:evidence. And idle pre-
tensions and assumptions like these
have given riee to the saying, that
" he who wishes to tell a falsehood
with small chance of detection, should
lay his scene of action at a distance."
Therefore the Jew who is accustom-
ed to place his faith on the truth, to
reflect and maturely to investigate
ere he forms an opinion, even though
it does not contest positive and visi-
ble evidence, or is contrary to innate
impressions, such as are contained
in the law of Moses, revealed with
the greatest possible publicity and
authenticity, — the Jew finds it diffi-
cult to force his reason into a belief
of something which that reason re-
jects as impossible ; for how can he
believe that, the possibility of which

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

381

he cannot comprehend, and of which
his reason cannot conceive or form
any idea? Respecting the judicial
enactments of the law of Moses, they
are more perfect than those of any
other system, inasmuch as love of
human kind is commanded ; as it is
written, " Thou shalt love thy neigh-
bour like thyself." (Leviticus xix.
18.) Hatred and rancour are for-
bidden : " Thou shalt not hate
thy brother in thy heart." The
law likewise enjoins love to the
stranger ; as it is written, " Love ye
therefore the stranger, for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt ; "
(Deut. x. 19 ;) and forbids to oppress
him : " He shall dwell with thee, in
the midst of thee, in the place which
he shall choose, in one of thy gates,
wheresoever he liketh ; thou shalt
not oppress him." (Deut. xxiii. 16.)
If the law permits to take interest
from a ^2;, that word means " a fo-
reigner, an idolater," who does not
observe the seven laws of the Noach-
idae. In every judicial respect the
law of Moses takes precedence over
every other legislative system, as it
apportions the punishment to the
offence, with the utmost precision
and equity ; which we have already
instanced in our last chapter. If the
law does not put to death the
avenger of blood, who has killed the
involuntary homicide, it must be
observed that the latter must have
been guilty, if not of positive crime,
at least of great imprudence ; for if
his occasioning the death of another
was the effect of pure chance, he
need not seek an asylum at all ; and
whoever, in that case, attacked and
slew him became a murderer in the
eye of the law, and was punished
accordingly. But the reason why
his stay in the asylum depended on
the life of the high priest, is given at
length in the Talmud, (treatise
Makkoth, folio 11,) to which we refer.
We Jews maintain, and are justified
in the assertion, that the law of
Moses is perfect. But, to allow
these laws to be Divine, and never-
theless to maintain that they must
be amended and perfected by hu-
man enactments, and supplementary
statutes of different empires, is, to
say the least of it, very singular.
Respecting the morals taught by the

law of Moses, the objection that its
precepts are confined to deeds only,
and do not take cognizance of
thoughts and desires of the heart, is
altogether unfounded and untrue.
The law tells us explicitly, " Circum-
cise the foreskin of your hearts."
(Deut. x. 17.) All the directions to
love God, to fear him, to love our
neighbours, not to harbour hatred,
rancour, or revenge, and many others
of a similar kind, can only relate,
and be addressed, to the inward feel-
ings of the heart. If the law com-
mands deeds, it is because purity of
the heart would be vain, unless dis-
played in corresponding deeds ; but
the chief aim of all its instruction is
to preserve the heart from becoming
corrupt, and from harbouring repre-
hensible thoughts and desires. There-
fore, David says, " A pure heart cre-
ate in me, O God ! " (Psalm li. 10,)
and he repeats the expression in
many other places. Thus, then, the
law of Moses is, in every respect,
most perfect ; and all the objections
urged against it by the philosopher
are proved to be utterly unfounded,
and contrary to truth. David has
concisely, but justly, expressed the
true character of this law in the four
particulars \ve have examined, when
he says, " The law of the Lord is
perfect, restoring the soul." (Psalm
xix. 8.) By the word mitt, "law,"
he means that all its contents, as the
inebriety of Noah or of Lot, and si-
milar narratives, are all related for a
certain moral purpose, and as ex-
amples for our caution and instruc-
tion. When calling it "rt niin,
" the law of the Lord," he means
that its origin is perfect, as it cannot
be otherwise, emanating from the
Holy One, (blessed be HE !) who is
all-perfection ; and therefore it can-
not partake of the errors and defects
incidental to whatever is of human
origin. By the word " perfect," he
signifies that its form is free from all
defects ; and by the expression,
0?2J nH'ttfO, "restoring the soul," he
denotes the tendency of the law,
which is the eternal felicity of the
soul. The word n^^s, "restore,"
means that the spirit may return to
its Immortal Source ; as is said,
" And the spirit 2*trfi returns to God

3 u

382

CUSTOMS AM> OBSERVANCES OF THB JEWS.

who gave it." (Eccle.'. xii. 7.) Thus,
in every one of these four particulars,

(To be continued.)

David maintains the perfection of
the law of Moses.

III. CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.
CD^IQ Purim. 14th and 15th days of Adar.

THESE two days of rejoicing, al-
though established subsequently to
the law of Moses, are nevertheless,
by the unanimous consent of the
whole Jewish nation, received and
observed as a religious festival. The
contemporaries of the event which it
commemorates " ordained and took
upon themselves and their seed, and
upon all such as joined themselves
unto them, not to fail in the keeping
of these two days." Therefore, the
observance, as a religious vow on the
part of our pious ancestors, confirmed
by those who ,'at the time were in-
vested with due authority, is binding
upon us and upon our descendants
unto the latest generations. De-
voted to hilarity without the prohi-
bition of men's ordinary avocations,
(which are strictly forbidden on the
holy-days ordained by the law of
Moses,) this festival neither partakes
of that solemnity with which the
holy-days of the law are celebrated,
nor does it sink into Bacchanalian
orgies, like the rejoicings of other
ancient nations : But it is consecrated
to that heartfelt and grateful joy
which ought to attend the memory
of the marked and merciful protec-
tion of Providence. Wrhen the an-
nals of other nations record wars
and conquests, victories and defeats,
prosperity and suffering, all of
which, doubtless, were under the
salutary control of an All-guiding
Providence, its direct interposition
is nowhere so visible, as in the his-
tory of the Israelites; no one event
of which, since the calling of Abra-
ham, is it possible to dwell upon
without being penetrated with the
conviction, that Divine Providence
is, in a most signal degree, evinced
in that history : So that he who
duly reflects on the facts narrated in
their sacred records, cannot for an
instant separate the fate of the Is.
raelites from the thought of the all-
wise interferences of their Great and
Omnipotent Preserver. Indeed, the
nation itself seems destined to be a

living record, an imperishable mo-
nument, of the most important Di-
vine truths. For this purpose has
the mercy of their God protected
them through mmifold dangers:
For this purpose his long-suffering
still permitted a remnant to escape,
when the sword of wrath exacted
the fearful penalty of their sins : For
this purpose, — exiled from their na-
tive land, banished from regions
which once received them hospitably,
persecuted by those who once be-
friended them, — they still exist un-
changed and unmixed, the same in.
good report as in evil, in prosperity
as in adversity. Their God has de-
clared : "I the Lord am not altered,
and ye children of Jacob are not
consumed." (Mai. iii. 6.) The great
purpose for which my Providence
singled you out ye are still to accom-
plish. Woe unto you if ever ye grow
indifferent to your high destiny !
No middle course is open unto you.
The plea, " We are not worse than
our neighbours," does not avail you.
The highest moral dignity is yours,
or the lowest degradation.*

The events Avhich this festival
commemorates, are not stamped with
that strikingly miraculous character

* The Talmud, commenting on Esther
vi. 13, asks, " Why does Holy Writ in
the same verse call the advisers of Haman
his friends and his wise men ? R. Jochanan
saith, The Gentile who speaks wisely is
entitled to the appellation of DDH, wise
man. How became Haman's friends en-
titled to that designation ? They said to
him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the
Jews, now that thou hast commenced to fall
before Mm, thou wilt not prevail against
him, but shalt surely fall before him. The
Jews, when they rise, mount to the very
stars ; and, when they fall, they sink to the
very earth." (Treatise Megillah, folio 16.)
In a moral sense this assertion of the Tal-
mud is most true, and founded on expe-
rience and the nature of things : For if he
whose character ought to be dignified de-
rogates from his own worth, he cannot
pursue a middle course, but pinks to the
very earth.

CUSTOMS AXD OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

3S3

which marks the facts recorded by
the holy-days of the law ; but still
the whole chain of these events pre-
sents to the min;l of the observer the
fullest and firmest conviction, that
~'~rs i'^vs, " the guiding finger
of Providence " was directly and vi-
sibly concerned. iThe separate links
of this chain present nothing ex-
traordinary to the mind. That an
oriental despot, sunk in voluptuous
indolence, should consent to sacri-
fice an en'ire nation in order to gra-
tify the ii:alice of a favourite vizier,
is not incredible. That this favourite,
inflated with pride, should think
it beneath his dignity to punish the
solitary offender only, but should
deem the destruction of a whole peo-
ple an expiation barely sufficient to
appease his resentment, is not ^con-
trary to the perverse ambition of
man. How many Hamaus might,
even at the present day, be found
ready to immolate millions on the
shrine of their inordinate atr.bition,
were but a second Ahasuerus found
infatuated enough to give ear to their
pernicious counsels! That female
virtue, good sense, and amiable
modesty, should exercise their influ-
ence on the mind even of an Ahasu-
erus, is not at all surprising. That
a monarch should forget the import-
ant services of unobstrusive merit,
unless recalled to his memory by
some apparently adventitious cir-
cumstance, is but too often the case.
That a sudden change should raise
the victim of a minion's hatred to the
rank and power of his persecutor,
and consign the latter to his merited
punishment, is not in the East an
uncommon reverse of fortune. But
it is the connection of all these events,
(which, singly, present nothing won-
derful,) the minute and strange com-
bination .of time and circumstances
acting upon each other, which ren-
der these occurrences most miracu-
lous to the reflecting mind.

Until the destruction of the first
temple, the Divine interposition in
behalf of the Israelites was so direct
and visible, as not to leave any doubt
on the minds of men that " the fin-
ger of God " was in all those mat-
ters. Thus, — to cite one instance,
out of many, — when the blasphemer
Sennacherib and his proud hosts ad-

vanced against Jerusalem, " it came
to pass .that night, that the angel of
the Lord went out, and smote in
the camp of the Assyrians a hun-
dred fourscore and five thousand."
(2 Kings xix. 35.) A deliverance so
sudden and supernatural compelled
the most confirmed sceptic to own,
" The hand of the Lord has done
this." But since their captivity,
Divine Providence, though not less
concerned for their preservation, is
exercised in a manner less positive,
and more open to the cavils of the
infidel, who says, " Whatever hap-
pened to them is in the ordinary
course of events." The cause of this
we find in Holy Writ : Moses, when
announcing to the Israelites the Di-
vine favour which will ever attend
their observance of the law, tells
them, in the name of the Lord,
— ~T2 T:i'J.'% "I will dwell
amongst them." (Exodus xxv. 8.)
The God of the universe is omnipre-
sent and immaterial, cannot be con-
tained in space, nor occupy any
dwelling: As Solomon justly said,
" Will Go-.l indeed dwell on the
earth ? Behold, the heavens and
heaven of heavens cannot contain
thee, much less the house that I have
builded." (-2 Kings viii. 27.) The
meaning of the Divine promise,
therefore, is, " My providence shall
be so visibly and supernaturaily
evinced in your favour, as to leave
no doubt that I, your God, am the
Lord of the universe, and that ye are
my peculiar people, chosen out to
afford this great instruction to the
whole world." On the contrary,
when Moses denounces the punish-
ment which awaits their sinful dis-
obedience, he tells them, likewise in
the name of the Lord,

~rr~ -:-s-.
" I will turn away and hide my face
on that day." (Deut. xxxi. 7.) This
— ".~ ~r~, "hiding the face" of
the Deity is the greatest punishment
that is inflicted on sinful and rebel-
lious man. He is no longer under
the protecting guidance of Divine
Providence. But though the sins of
Israel have caused this denunciation
to be fulfilled, yet the Divine promise
was, " I will not cast them away,
neither will I abhor them to destroy
them utterly." fLevit. xxvi. -i-i.> In
D 2

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

the hour of their utmost need, their
Divine Benefactor saves and pre-
serves them. But as their misdeeds
have rendered them unworthy of his
direct and visible interposition, the
means adopted are no longer strik-
ingly supernatural, but assume the
guise and semblance of effects pro-
duced by natural causes. Such were
the events commemorated by this
festival.

The book in which these events
are recorded is not only admitted
into the canon of Holy Writ, and,
according to Talmudic authority,
written by sacred inspiration, (Tal-
mud, treatise Megillah, folio 7,) but,
like the roll of the law, it is copied
with the utmost exactitude on vel-
lum, in order to be read aloud
to the assembled congregation, as
part of the service of the day.
As a mere narrative of events, the
style in which it is composed, in the
Hebrew, partakes of that forcible
simplicity, and indescribable dig-
nity which are peculiar to the Sacred
Scriptures. Nor is it possible that
any Jew can listen to its recital,
however often repeated, without
being penetrated with a feeling of
awe and veneration. That the facts
which it narrates are true, cannot be
called in question : As, in addition
to the positive authority to which it
is entitled from occupying a place in
the Sacred Canon, it bears intrinsic
evidence of having been written at
the time the events took place, when
any departure from the truth could
not escape detection. Whereas the
writer, in the fullest confidence,
appeals to the positive knowledge of
his contemporaries, and says, "There-
fore, for all the words of this letter,
and of that which they had seen
concerning this ; matter, and which
had come unto them, the Jews or-
dained, and took upon them," &c.
(Esther ix. 26, 27.) And the scru-
pulous Masoretic care which has at
all times been bestowed on the Me-
gillah (Book of Esther,) is a suffi-
cient voucher for its unchanged ge-
nuineness.* The history which it

* It is a singular fact, which, according
to our opinion, is decisive of its .being still
in precisely the same state as when first
written, that the name of the Deity (ac-

narrates is, doubtless, well known
to all our readers. We, neverthe-
less, permit ourselves to call their
attention to the principal traits of
that history.

We find two hostile dispositions
engaged in stirring contest with
each other : The one a descendant
of Agag, the Amalekite, has, through
the smiles of fortune, risen to the
utmost height of power and influ-
ence. A hereditary hatred against
the worshippers of the true God —
the first display of which we find
immediately after the liberation of
Israel from Egyptian bondage, (Ex-
odus xvii. 8,) has descended to him
from his fathers, and is latent in his
breast. The occasion to call it
forth, and to feed its rankling ven-
om, soon offers itself : A Jew, Mor-
decai by name, refuses to prostrate
himself before the minion of royal fa-
vour. The humble exile, sitting at the
outward gate of the proud palace,
which opens its lofty portals to the
lordly vizier, would hardly, out of
pride or ambition, have disobeyed the
royal mandate, commanding honour
to be given to Haman, or would not
have exposed himself to inevitable de-
struction, had he not considered obe-
dience to the freak of the monarch as
rebellion against the law of his God ;
had he not felt that in prostrating
himself before his fellow-worm he
degraded the worship of the true
God below that of the dumb idol.
He knew that his duty left him no
choice; and that, as a 'Jew, it be-
came him to submit to the utmost
extremity, rather than sanction idol-
atry. True to the character which
ever since then has distinguished his
nation, he stood prepared to die ra-
ther than contaminate himself in
any way with idolatrous observ-
ances. This adherence to duty, re-
cording to any of his appellations) is no-
where directly expressed in the book of
Esther ; although many places bear allu-
sion to the Sacred Name, as well in sense
as in anagram, as does likewise the reli-
gious spirit which pervades the whole. It
seems as if the book was written under the
immediate eye of Ahasuerus, and incorpo-
rated with the royal records or archives of
the Persians, who, as followers of Zoroaster,
might not have been disposed to confess
the superiority of the true God.

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

385

gardless of all consequences, this
stubborn defiance of human power,
when obedienre to the Lord is called
in question, is soon recognised by
Hainan, not as peculiar to the indi-
vidual Mordecai, but as character-
istic of that hated race, the Jews.*
The old rancour, the national quar-
rel, is rekindled in his haughty
breast, and gladly he seizes the
opportunity to glut his ancient
grudge in the blood^f the detested
toes of his father's house. Xor does
he confine the desire of vengeance
to his own bosom : As he devotes
the. whole nation of Jews to merciless
slaughter, so does he excite all those
of his own nation (the Amalekites)
to become the willing executioners
of his fell purpose against the
wretched and dispersed exiles. Such
is his unlimited influence that he
has but to apply to his king, and his
request is granted ; such the infatua-
tion of the monarch, that, though
millions are to be exterminated, he
callously seats himself at his festive
board, nor wastes one thought on the
victims whom he has, thoughtlessly
and therefore culpably, doomed to a
cruel death. Thus pride, hatred,
and revenge combine their baleful
activity : Where can they find a
more fitting representative than
Hainan; Proudly he blasphemes,
and says, " There is no God." Yet,
in the midst of his pride, he is sway-
ed by the .most gross superstitions.
That the Lord of the universe can
and will protect his intelligent crea-
tures, he does not believe. But
that the lot which he himself casts
will determine the day most propi-
tious to his horrid designs and most
fatal to his victims, he firmly be-
lieves^

* It is remarkable, that, of all the cha-
racters enumerated in Holy Writ, Mordecai
is the only one who is designated by the
cognomen, ,T«T7t, " the Jew.'" And. we
think, that as it was the peculiar character-
istic of the nation, displayed by him in its
highest degree, which led to the events re-
lated in the ^legiliah, the same character-
istic obtained for him the distinguishing
appellation of " the Jew."

§ To give the completes refutation to all

those who, like Haman, attempt to dabble

with the secrets of futurity, the lot which he

"2 gives a name 2've Purim, to the

festival which commemorates the signal de-

On the other hand, we behold an
entire nation, in their representative
.Mordecai, suffering innocently, co-
vering themselves with ashes and
sackcloth. No hope have they, save
the protection of their God ; no arms
but prayer, no shield but the Divine
mercy. A blooming sister of their
race is designed by that Providence
to be the instrument of their pre-
servation. Placed on the throne by
a loving husband, who, except her-
self, can turn that husband's heart ?
Mordecai does not neglect to sum-
mon her to his aid ; but on the
mercy of his God he confides, more
than on the influence of her charms :
" If thou altogether boldest thy
peace at this time, enlargement and
deliverance will arise to the Jews
from another place : " Such is the
message by which he urges the timid
queen to advocate the holy cause of
her injured nation. The spirit which
animates him descends on his kins-
woman. Readily she prepares to
undertake the dangerous office. But
it is not in her beauty, in the win-
ning graces of her demeanour, or in
the miid charms of her conversation,
that she places her reliance. She
has been educated a Jewess. The
instruction of her uncle and guardian
Mordecai has made ;her acquainted
with the history of her people, and
with the laws of their God. She
knows that in the hour of peril,
when, amidst imminent dangers, no
hope of safety remained, penitence
and heart-felt prayer, resignation,
and confidence in their Divine Deli-
verer, had always secured the pro-
tection of Heaven to the remnant of
Israel. The lessons of her early
years are not lost upon her. She
prepares to meet the monarch ; but,
ere she confronts him, she invokes
the Gracious Ruler of the universe.
She wishes to find favour in the eyes
of her king and husband : In order
to succeed, she fasts ! Strengthened
by the invisible support of Heaven,
she proceeds into the dreaded pre-
sence of Ahasuerus. But whilst she
relies implicitly on the protection of
Providence, she neglects no means

feat of his undertaking, his ignominious
death, and the complete deliverance-
destined victims, who consulted not times
or days, but relied on Providence.

386

CUSTOMS AND OBSERVANCES OF THE JEWS.

which consummate prudence and
profound wisdom counsel her to
adopt. Her request to the king, —
when in the fulness of his admira-
tion he exclaims, " What wilt thou,
queen Esther ? and what is thy re-
quest ? Were it half my kingdom, it
shall be granted thee ; " — her request
is only that, " If it seem good unto
the king, let the king and Hainan
come this day unto the banquet that
I have prepared for him." The king
consents, and though he again re-
peats his offer, that whatever request
she may prefer, shall be instantly
granted, she is satisfied with again
inviting the king and Haman to a
banquet for the succeeding day.
Judges of human nature, who form
some idea of the wayward character
of Ahasuerus from the previous
events narrated in the Megillah, will
readily concede that she could not
have adopted any means more effica-
cious to inspire the king with dis-
trust and jealousy against his over-
grown favourite, than by singling
out the latter from the crowd of
courtiers and ministers who sur-
rounded the throne, by placing him
on friendly terms of equality with
the king, and requesting it as a
particular favour to herself that both
would grace her banquet with their
presence. And when it is considered
that whoever, uncalled-for, ventured
into the royal presence, risked his life,
it could not fail to give umbrage to the
king that queen Esther should have
exposed herself to so much jeopardy,
merely to make Haman the witness
of their connubial happiness ; and
that, though urged to tax the royal
bounty, she could advance no request
more important than a repetition of
the invitation. Nor did she miscal-
culate on the surprise which her real
request would ultimately excite in
the breast of the king, who thought
Haman so high in her good graces.
The greatest proof of her piety and
confidence in God is likewise af-
forded by her delaying to ask what
she actually wished. Instead of at
once availing herself of the royal
promise to grant whatever she might
advance, she, under the fullest con-
viction that Providence will direct
her for the best, awaits that direction,
prepared at the same time to give it

the fullest effect. Nor was she dis-
appointed in any of her expectations

pan njtyrnu «inn n^s. "On

that night sleep forsook the king."
The chapter which commences with
these words opens to our view the
means employed by Providence for
the preservation of the Jewish peo-
ple. The Guardian of Israel slum-
bereth not himself, and permits not
others to sleep when their existence
is at stake. All our readers know
the sequel of the history : — How
Mordecai, the unrewarded preserver
of the king's life, was at once taken
from his sackcloth and ashes, and,
royally attired, presented to the as-
tonished inhabitants of the capital
as " the man whom the king de-
lighteth to honour : " — How Haman,
who had erected a gallows on which
to hang the hated Mordecai, has
scarcely recovered from the astonish-
ment and dismay into w hich the un-
expected exaltation of his foe had
thrown him, ere he was summoned
to the royal banquet : — Again, the
king, in the ardour of his love, ex-
horts his royal consort to acquaint
him with her wish ; once more he
pledges himself that it shall be per-
formed, though her demand be half
his kingdom : — The queen is now
no longer silent. Listen to her plain-
tive appeal, hearken to the throb-
bings of her heart while, in hurried
accents, she exclaims : "If I have
found favour in thy sight, O king !
and if it, please the king, let my life
be given me at my petition, and my
people at my request." She, to
whom the king, but a moment pre-
viously, had offered half his king-
dom, prays for her life as though it
were in danger. Whatever the fate
of the Jews might be, was she not
safe, secure in the love of her hus-
band ? No ! the Jewess spurns a
safety that is not to he shared by her
people. She scorns a life preserved
by the inexorable destroyer of her
nation, She will not share the crown
of him whose word might have saved
her brethren, and who may be reluct-
ant to pronounce that word. If they
are doomed to perish, she will not
survive : The death that threatens
them she is prepared to share. Iden-
tified with her people, her fate iridis-
solubly bound up with theirs, it is

ESSAY OX THE AXCIENT SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.

3S7

for both that she craves mercy.*
" For we are sold, I and my people,
to be destroyed, to be slain, and to
perish. Had we been sold for bond-
men and bond-women, I had been
silent." Her expressions are broken
and unfinished. The agitation of
her mind is depicted in her words.
The inspired writer places her as it
were before our very eyes, — how, in
the agony of feelings worked up to
the highest pitch, her swelling bosom
heaves, and she cannot find utterance
to complete the sentence she begins !

Her success is complete. Full of
gratitude for the deliverance of her
people, and the signal protection of
Providence, " Esther the queen, the
daughter of Abigail, and Mordecai
the Jew, wrote with all authority to
confirm these days of Purim : "
" And the Jews had light, gladness,
joy, and honour." The day and the
month " were turned to them from
sorrow to joy, and from mourning
into a feast-day, that they should
make them days of feasting and joy ;
sending presents one to another, and
gifts to the poor."

The spirit in which the festival
was instituted continues to the pre-
sent day. The Medrash, — as an evi-
dence of the sacred inspiration with
which the Book of Esther was written,

• To our English Esthers, to those of our
fair sisters whom Providence has blessed
with rank and power, we recommend the'ex-
ample of their heroic countrywoman. In
many lands our brethren groan under a mo-
ral and degrading bondage, bitterer far
than death. Their influence, which no one
can resist, might assuage numerous suffer-
ings! \Ve invoke it — we trust, not in vain.

— cites the prophetic prediction of
the writer, " The days of Purim shall
not cease among the Jews, uor the
memorial of them perish from their
seed ;" (Esther ix. 28 ;) a prediction
which, up to the present time, has
been literally fulfilled. To com-
memorate Esther's fast, the eve of
the festival is a solemn fast-day, and
bears her name *in~ss .~':yr. In
the evening the congregation assem-
ble in the synagogue, to hear the
Megillah recited. This recitation is
repeated in the morning. Prayers
and b^mns of thanksgiving are added
to the service of the day. The afflu-
ent distribute their bountiful alms to
their poorer brethren. No Jew (ex-
cept the poorest of the poor, who is
forced to accept the aid of charity)
permits the day to pass without giv-
ing some proof of his libera'ity. Joy,
comfort, and happiness, are the
order of the day. Interchange of
presents takes place; and every Israel-
ite, in his inward feelings and out-
ward behaviour, so appreciates the
signal deliverance vouchsafed to his
fathers, as if he had been present
and exposed to the imminent danger
from which they escaped.

Such is the feast of Purim ; a feast
of gratitude and of love : Not only a
memorial to Israelites, but likewise
a testimony to all the nations of the
earth, in the midst of whom Jews
have found a refuge, — that a just
and wise Providence does protect the
innocent and punish the oppressor;
and that it is not a blind fatality, but
a righteous God, who governs the
universe.

IV. ESSAY ON THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.
FKOM THE CD-rum m53: FOR 5583. (1823.)
(Continued from page 356 J

true God through the regions of the
east.

We share the opinion of the Rab-
bies, that his followers were the dis-
ciples which in his own land he had
gained over to his religion. That,
passage of Holy Writ which says,
"Abraham took Sarai his wife, and
Lot his brother's son, and all their
substance they had gathered, and the

ABRAHAM.

PROVIDENCE seems to have de-
signed the frequent journeys of
Abraham to be a means of spreading
that faith, which elevated his mind
and morals above those of his con-
temporaries ; and, with the force of
inspired eloquence, of preaching the

388

TALMUDIC APHORISMS.

souls they had gotten * in Haran, and
they went forth," &c., (Genesis xii.
5,) seems to indicate that such was
the case.

Beth-el, which, according to literal
translation is, THE HOUSE OF GOD,
seems to have been the central point
of the patriarch's wanderings, where
his pious hearers assembled to listen
to his instructions. This is fully
proved by the words of Holy Writ,
"11 Qtm CD-llN OtP «1pn, (Gene-
sis xiii. 4,) "Abraham there pro-
claimed the name of the Lord."
But as his purpose to spread his
doctrines carried him from one place
to another, he perpetuated his pre-
sence and instruction by erecting a
monument. This was, doubtless,
the motive of the patriarchs in
building the many altars of which
we find mention made in Holy Writ.

* Andthe souls they HAD MADE at Haran.

R. Eleazar, the son of Zimra, saith, " If all
those who have ever existed in this world were
collected to create even a fly , they could not he-
stow life on it ; and Holy Writ here speaks of

Eastern traditions relate, that
Abraham had, in his early youth,
been brought to reflect on, and to
acknowledge, the unity and eternity
of the Creator, from observing the
revolutions of the heavenly bodies,
the regular alternations of day and
night, the constant succession and
predominance of the sun, and other
astral luminaries, and the variety of
seasons which thence results, which
convinced him that one Great and In-
comprehensible Being governed the
universe which He had called into ex-
istence. This tradition is probable,
and in accordance with reason ; as
Abraham's mind must have discard-
ed the erroneous opinions of ; his
contemporaries even before the Di-
vine revelation was vouchsafed unto
him.

making souls ! But these are the converts
whom they reclaimed ; and the word ,10?
"made," is used to teach us, that whoso-
ever reclaims a soul from idolatry to the
worship of God is as if he had created
anew." (Bereshith Rabbah, chap. 39.)

(To be continued.)

V. TALMUDIC APHORISMS.

(Continued from page 356.)

R. MEIR used to say, "Devote
thy whole attention to study the
ways of God. Keep thy tongue
from speaking evil, and. thy lips
from uttering deceit. Let the love
of thy God dwell in thy heart, and
His fear be present to thy eyes ;
then wilt thou remain free from sin,
and the Lord will be with thee."
(Treatise Berachoth, folio 82.)

RABBAH used to say, " The final
use of all wisdom is, to improve the
heart and mind, and to impress man
with a due sense of his own unwor-
thiness and insufficiency. The prac-
tice of the great precepts of the law

com-
The Sa-

is superior to the mere study of it :
As the psalmist saith, ' The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wis-
dom; and good understanding to
all those who perform his
mands.' (Psalm cxi. 10.)
cred Singer does not
'to those who study,' but
' to those who perform.' " (Ibid.)

HE who is merciful to the crea-
tures of his God meets with mercy
from above. But he who is not
merciful to the creatures of his God
cannot expect mercy from above.
(Treatise Erubin, folio 88.)

(To be continued.')

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

HEBREW REVIEW

MAGAZINE OF RABBINICAL LITERATURE,

VOL. I.

NINETEENTH DAY OF ADAR, 5595.
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 1835.

No. 25.

I. THE MISHNA.

n2DO, Mescheth Abotk : "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

*:17 p. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

(Continued from page 377-)

HE* once saw a sknfl floating on the -water, and said, " Because thou didst drown another,
thou wert drowned thyself. And the end of those who drowned thee is, that they will
likewise be drowned." (II. 8.)

COMMENTARY. He once saw a
skull, Sfc. — In the few words which
the sage Hillel utters on the occasion
of casually seeing a human skull
floating on the water, he decides an
old and important dispute, which has
occupied sages and philosophers in
all ages; namely, to reconcile the
free-will of man with the prescience
of the Deity, which infers predesti-
nation. The question is, " How can
it be asserted, that man is a free-
agent, when it is well known that
he must die, and that the manner
and time of his death are according
to the will of God, independent of
which nothing can take place. Con-
sequently, when a roan is murdered,
the manner and hour of his death
having been in accordance with the
Divine Will, how can it be said that
his murderer was a free-agent, when
his victim was predestined to die
violently ? And why should the
former be punished, when he was
only the instrument for carrying into
effect the decree of destiny?" This
question has been answered in va-
rious ways by sage divines and phi-
losophers. Some assert, that though
the time and manner in which the
murdered man was to die were in
accordance with the Divine will,
and therefore predestined, yet the
murderer was a free, and therefore a
responsible, agent ; as there was no
absolute necessity or influence inde-

pendent of his own will, which com-'
pelled him, rather than any other
man, to become the instrument of
fate ; that he might, if he had
pleased, have resisted the tempta-
tion of his evil passions, and left the
deed undone ; and that, as he thus
had the choice of committing omot
committing murder, the decision
rested with his own free-will ; he
consequently is responsible for his
own act and deed. In addition,
others say, that it is impossible for
human reason to define the know-
ledge and will of the Deity; and
that therefore we cannot conceive
how Divine prescience and human
free-will are to be reconciled. The
fact, however, is, that man is a free-
agent, while the Divine and All-
perfect Being is omniscient as well
as prescient : So that liberty and
predestination exist together in a
manner that human reason cannot
solve. Our teacher does not enter
into any detailed reply to the ques-
tion we before stated, but tells us, in
few words, that such is the fact ;
that free-agency and .predestination
are both true and existing together,
although human reason is too weak
to reconcile the apparent contradic-
tion. He says, " Because thou didst
drown another, thou wert drowned
thyself." He whose life thou didst
take was doomed by Providence to
perish by violence at a certain time.

Hillel.
3 £

390

THE MISHNA.

Nevertheless, as thou wert free to
do or to leave undone, didst act by
the impulse of thy choice and deci-
sion, and art therefore responsible
for thine own act and deed, thou art
a murderer, guilty of blood-shed,
and oughtest to be punished. And,
in order fully to carry out his great
precept, our teacher continues : "And
the end of those who drowned thee
is, that they themselves will be
drowned." Although thou wert a
murderer, guilty of bloodshed, re-
sponsible for thy own act, and hadst
forfeited thy life to the oft'ended laws
of thy God, yet thy punishment
must be in accordance with that law.
And if thy foul deed remains unde-
tected and unpunished, and thou
subsequently meetest thy doom at
the hand of an assassin, thy previous
guilt does not extenuate his offence.

Although thou wert fated to meet the
due reward of thy crime by a death as
violent as that which thou hadst in-
flicted on thy fellow-man, yet he who
constitutes himself the instrument to
effect thy fate, does so at the dictate
of his own uncontrolled will, is a
murderer, and will meet with his de-
served punishment. From this we
learn, 1. That whether he who falls
the victim of assassination, through
the inscrutable decree of Providence,
was guiltless, like the first murdered
Abel, or guilty, like the first mur-
derer Cain, the perpetrator of the foul
deed is a murderer, and is ultimately
visited with condign punishment.
2. That all the designs of Providence,
however impenetrable, are just : As
the Sacred Singer saith, "The judg-
ments of the Lord are true and righ-
teous altogether." (Psalm xix. 9.)

R. JOCHANAN, the son of Sachai, obtained the law from Hillel and Shammai. He
used to say, " If thou hast attained great learning in the law, do not consider thyself
meritorious in thine own conceit ; as this is the very purpose for which thou wast
created." (II. 10.)

COMMENTARY. R. Jochanan, the
son of Sachai, obtained the law, <$-c.
— The direct chain of tradition which
has been interrupted to make room
for the sayings and maxims of Hillel's
descendants, is again resumed, and
continued in the person of R. Jocha-
nan, who was the immediate pupil
and successor of Hillel and Shammai.
He was a contemporary of Josephus,
escaped from the siege of Jerusalem,
obtained the favour of Vespasian,
who, at his request, spared T\^\
Jamnai, where the descendants of
Hillel continued the great Rabbinical
School. He died shortly after the
destruction of the temple.

If thou hast attained great learning
in the law, Sfc. — Our teacher particu-
larly cautions us against the assump-
tion of spiritual pride, derived from
superior knowledge. An obvious
question arises : " Why says he not,
If thou hast attained great righteous-
ness, rather than saying, as he does,
great learning ?" To say that no man
is perfectly righteous, as Solomon
says in his inauguration-prayer,
"There is no man who sinneth not,"
(1 Kings viii. 46,) would be no reply :
.For no man is perfectly learned ; and

the more a man studies, the more
convinced he becomes of the scanti-
ness of his knowledge, as Zophar
saith : " Her measure is longer than
the earth and larger than the sea."
(Job xi. 9.) Thus the question still
remains open. We, however, reply :
It is impossible to attain perfection
either in righteousness or learning.
Both are unbounded, and can only
be measured relatively. The more
knowledge a man acquires, the more
lively becomes the sense of his defi-
ciency. The more righteous a per-
son is, (which pre-supposes know-
ledge,) the more his duties increase,
and the more rigorous become his
obligations ; until that, which is no
guilt in the case of the common peo-
ple, becomes a serious offence in the
case of him whose knowledge ought
to render him superior to such defects.
Accordingly, our Rabbies say,

"n "a «pn
n":i?u>n toim trpnvn op pipio

" The Holy One (blessed be HE !)
strictly scrutinizes the conduct of the
righteous, even to a single hair."
Their meaning is, that the more know-
ledge and virtue a man acquires, the

THE MISH.NA.

391

more imperative and precise becomes
the claim of his duties. Our teacher,
therefore, held it to be needless to cau-
tion the trulyrighteous against feelings
of self-sufficiency ; because the more
a man advances in righteousness, the
less likely is he, from a sense of his
own failings, to harbour overweening
conceit. But, having before said,
that increase of knowledge produces
increased duties, it is possible that
man may indulge the vanity of think-
ing : " My manifold duties are me-
ritorious to me, as they are the self-
acquired offsprings of the knowledge
which I have attained : Fcr, had I
been satisfied with knowing less, the
extent of my obligations would have
been more confined, and their rigour
less binding." Our teacher tells us,
however, that such a vanity is puerile
and unfounded. For, in the first
instance, it is thy duty to attain the
greatest possible knowledge, as David

said to Solomon, " Know thou the
God of thy father, and serve him,"
&c. (1 Chronicles xxviii. 9.) But
although the acquisition of know-
ledge is a duty incumbent on thee,
yet it is not meritorious to thee
towards thy God : For, whatever thou
hast gained is not the fruit of thine
unaided efforts : " For the Lord giveth
wisdom, from his mouth cometh
knowledge and understanding."
(Prov. ii. 6.) Thus our teacher im-
presses on us this lesson, — that we
are not possessed of any thing with
which to exalt ourselves in our own
minds, as both human knowledge and
righteousness are imperfect, not at-
tained independently of the Deity,
but are bestowed on man in order
that he may gain immortal bliss, the
great purpose for which, as our
teacher in the first instance says, he
was created.

HE * had five disciples : R. Eleazar the son of Hyrcanns, R. Joshua the son of Chana-
niah, R. Jose the Cohen, R. Simon the son of Xathanael, and R. Eleazar the son of
Aroch. — He once srad to them, " Go ye, and consider which is the right path to which
man ought to attach himself." R. Eleazar replied, }YD pj, " A good (bountiful) eye."
R. Joshua said,iTO -an, "A good friend." R. Jose said, i^c pC, "A good neigh-
bour." R. Simon said, TT!:rr rw Hum, " He who foresees what will arise." R.
Eleazar said, 2TC }'?, " A good heart/' On which their teacher said to them, " I
agree with the words of Eleazar the son of Aroch, rather than with you all ; for
his words comprise all that ye have said." (II. 11, 12.)

He once said to them, $c. — Who- theless possible to concentrate them

ever considers the method and sub-
ject of tuition adopted by the tanaim,
will at once become convinced that
their short and sententious maxims
contain wisdom of the highest reli-
gious, moral, and philosophic nature.
Their words, in their first and obvi-
ous acceptation, appear extremely
simple. Like hieroglyphics, though
the first sight conveys some idea to
the mind of what is intended to be
expressed, yet study and reflection
are required to penetrate into the
true meaning.

Go ye, and consider which is the
right path, fyc. — The Divine laws re-
vealed to man are the great guide
and standard according to which
man is to reatilate himself, in order
to be acceptable to the Deity. But
various and numerous as are the
enactments of these laws, it is never-

all in one comprehensne principle.
Accordingly our Rabbies adduced
different precepts in the law, which
they respectively considered as em-
bodying its vital principles, conso-
nant to the views which one or other
took of the aim and tendency of such
precepts. And while all agreed in
upholding the whole law of God as
the sole great guide to perfection,
each chose to himself the peculiar
path to which he closely adheres in
order to gain eternal life. When
our teacher, therefore, calls upon bis
disciples to consider well and select
the path upon which each of them
intends to commence and persevere,
as the best means of attaining true
perfection, his question is, in other
words, " Which are the moral quali-
ties or aids you require to adhere to
those precepts in the Divine law to

R. Jochanan.
3 £ 2

392

THE MISHNA.

which you, severally, intend to de-
vote yourselves ? " Such being the
nature of his question, the various
replies must be most interesting, and
deserving our best attention.

R. Eleazar replied, " A good (boun-
tiful) eye" — This expression is a He-
braism, or idiom peculiar to the He-
brew language. Such we find in
Holy Writ : "He that hath a boun-
tiful eye shall be blessed ; for he
giveth of his bread to the poor."
(Prov. xxii. 9.) The definition of
the phrase " bountiful eye," is de-
light at beholding the happiness of
others. R. Eleazar, therefore, tells
us, that the great moral quality which
man requires is a bounteous dispo-
sition, free from envy, hatred, or
discontent ; and that, in order to at-
tain eternal bliss, man must regulate
his conduct so as to correspond with
the dictates of such a disposition or
frame of mind.

R. Joshua said, "A good friend"
— The laws of God, revealed to man
in order that he may live by them,
and regulate his conduct according
to their precepts, are enacted with no
other purpose whatsoever than to
secure the true happiness of man
both here and hereafter. The will
of God, and that which is acceptable
in his sight, is made known to man
for his own sake, not for the sake of
his Supreme Legislator and Benefac-
tor : As it is declared, " If thou art
righteous, what dost thou give to
Him ? and if thou greatly trans-
gressest, what doest thou to Him ?
To man, thy equal, is thy righteous-
ness, and to the son of man thy sin-
ning." (Job xxv, 8, 9.) Thus the aim
of all the precepts of the law, the
virtues which it teaches, and the
morality which* it inculcates, are to
secure the happiness of mankind, in
him who obeys, and in his fellow-
men who are benefited by his obedi-
ence. But as it is in the power of
no man to invert the order of nature,
to alter the course of eventsj or to
decide the true happiness of his fel-
low-men, he is himself the real centre
of gravity to all his actions. If he
does that which is good he is happy,
and if he does that which is evil he
is unhappy. Thus his own true
happiness is secured to man by reli-
gion. But as human happiness is

conditional, and dependent on the
sympathies of some one who can
share his feelings, so that even he
whose wealth and power are mea-
sureless cannot be happy if left to
his solitary grandeur, but feels the
want of sympathy, and of a congenial
heart to partake his joys ; it thence
ensues, that true friendship is the
great blessing conferred on earth by
religion; while the deserving man,
whose untoward fortune has not here
permitted him to taste earthly joys,
is certain that the cravings of his
heart will be satisfied in other more
blissful regions. In order to be
worthy of this great solace of the
human heart, man must himself be
capable of true friendship ; for he
only with whom the feeling is recip-
rocal in its fullest extent, merits to
possess a friend, the great good for
which religion alone can qualify him.
Therefore R. Joshua considers the
possession of a friend as indicative
of those mental and moral qualities
most requisite for enabling man to
obey the precepts of religion, — the
great vivifying centre from which
every good emanates.

R. Jose said, " A good neighbour"
— Man, as a created being, is one of
the numberless links in the great
chain of creation ; the whole of which,
in accordance with the plan of the
Creator, is destined to harmony and
perfection. As long as man obeys the
law of his God, he is in unison with
the great plan of creation ; but when
he disobeys, he mars and disturbs its
beautiful and universal harmony.
And though it be true, that the influ-
ence of man on the great entirety
is so trivial as to be almost impercep-
tible, still the effect by moral conduct
produced on those links, which are
in direct and immediate contact with
him, is such that, as far as they are
concerned, he either does interrupt,
or contributes to, the general order.
It should, therefore, be the great aim
of every man, so to exercise his influ-
ence and the effects caused by his
deeds, that his immediate sphere of
operations, and those most intimately
connected with, or subject to, his
activity, may continue in accord with
the beneficent purpose of the whole.
Thus he becomes to them " a good
neighbour;" by which word R. Jose

METAPHYSICS AKD PHILOSOPHY OF THB RABBIES.

393

does not mean, good to those only
whose residence happens casually to
be in his immediate vicinity, but to
those likewise over whom, from affi-
nity or other causes, his influence
extends, in such a manner as to effect
their real welfare.

R. Simon said, " He who foresees
the result to come" — As man on earth
is engaged in a constant struggle
with his passions and desires, the
cause which gives predominance to
good above evil inclinations, what-
ever shape it may assume, is in reality
founded on the reflection, " What
will be the consequence hereafter of
my present undertaking ? " And
though the immediate deed may ap-
pear harmless, the pious man weighs
maturely, and reflects on the con-
sequences which are likely to follow
the indulgence of any desire, however
seemingly indifferent and momenta-
rily agreeable it may appear. This
reflection on the consequences here-
after, may be limited to time, be
extended 10 eternity, or may equally
apply to both. He who does not
entertain these reflections, but yields
to the appetites of the moment, with-
out thinking of the consequences
that may ensue, mostly prefers the
agreeable to the useful, and pays for
his short-lived joy with lasting and
abiding repentance. This heedless
disposition is in Hebrew called, iHD,
used as a reproach by Jacob to his
first-born, when he says, rr":r ms,
" Unstable as water, thou shall not
excel." (Gen. xlix. 4.) And as this
baneful rashness is parent to every
vice, so R. Simon maintains, that the
opposite quality, due reflection on
the consequence hereafter, (in the
fullest extent of that word,) is the
great basis of every virtue.

R. Eleazar said, "A good heart " —
Little as we know of the soul, its
essence, and the local habitation of

its various powers, as connected with
the body, — perceiving its presence
only from the manifestation of its
faculties, — we nevertheless discover,
that as thought and reflection have
their seat in the brain, desire is
lodged in the heart. And as desire is
mostly called into activity by the eye,
Holy Writ gives us this caution :
" -Seek ye not after your own hearts
and your own eyes." (Num. XT. 39.)
And though all other faculties of the
soul, even the power of reflection
itself, are limited, yet the heart, and
the force of desire by which it is in-
habited, are boundless. Religion
commands that this seat of measure-
less desires shall be altogether sub-
jected to the will of God, and that
their whole strength shall be concen-
trated and exerted in obedience to
his holy precepts. The performance
of this command constitutes good-
ness of heart, which, as R. Eleazar
maintains, is the fountain whence
springs every religious and moral
quality.

R Jochanan said, " I agree with the
icords of Ekazar," $c. — When the
various opinions delivered by the
five disciples are properly examined,
we find that, though differing in
words, yet they all agree that the
basis of religion and morality requires
that man should divest himself of
absorbing selfishness, and regulate
the powers of his soul, so that he
finds happiness in promoting the true
welfare of others ; which is the result
of genuine goodness of heart. There-
fore, the Rabbi justly tells his pupils,
" All the qualities you have enumer-
ated are comprised in the principle
recommended by R. Eleazar." Thus,
" a good heart," a heart that is under
the fostering and salutary guidance
of the sacred precepts of religion, is
the great and fundamental basis of
true virtue and happiness.

(To be continued.)

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.
Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY B. JOSEPH ALBO.

(Continued from page 382.)

CHAPTER xxvi. and regulate the conduct of man,

they establish the relations and con-
As the Divine laws have been nexions between the Holy One
revealed by the Deity in order to guide (blessed be HK !) who enacts, and

394

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

man who is to obey, these laws. It
therefore is obvious, that any one
command pronounced by the Deity
at once proves the existence of God,
his revelation, and retributive Pro-
vidence ; all of which are in the
most forcible manner, clearly and be-
yond a doubt, placed before us, in the
great command, " I am the Lord
thy God," &c. ; in which, as we
have already proved, these three
great principles are comprised. But
it pleased the Holy One himself to
impart to the Israelites ten com-
mandments; as these comprise the
general duties incumbent on man in
consequence of the relations subsist-
ing between him and the Creator ;
namely, those which he has to ob-
serve towards Him who commands,
and those others which concern
them who, like himself, are to obey.
Accordingly, these twofold duties
were written on separate tables ;
one, containing the first five, ex-
presses the former class of duties ;
and the second, containing the last
five, expresses the latter class. Thus
a monarch, having liberated numer-
ous slaves, whom he constitutes into
a nation, and whose ruler he himself
becomes, proceeds to legislate for
the new state. The preface of his
decrees is a declaration reminding
his subjects of the benefits for which
they are indebted to him, and that
their national existence is his work.
He then proclaims himself their
Sovereign Lord, requiring them to
acknowledge him as such. -He tells
them, that their fealty and obedience
are due to him, that they must not
rebel or transfer their allegiance to
another ; that they are to yield due
veneration to his name and dignity,
and not to libel or vilify either. He
appoints a day to commemorate the
foundation of the empire, the due
observance of which is imperative.
And as he is not at all times inclined
personally to administer his laws, he
ordains his subjects to pay all honour
and obedience to those whom he
deputes to govern in his name.
Having thus laid down those funda-
mental laws of the constitution,
which bear reference to himself, he
next proceeds to enact the various
and reciprocal rights and duties
which the new citizens are entitled

to and bound by. In like manner,
the ten commandments which the
Deity gave to the Israelites contain
these fundamental laws, in the order
we have described. First, He tells
them, " I am the Lord thy God."
I noticed thee and thy sufferings in
Egypt, and deigned to release thee
from bondage : It therefore behoves
thee to acknowledge me thy Bene-
factor, as thy Sovereign Ruler. —
" Thou shalt have no other gods
before me." Do not alienate thy
fealty, or invest another with that
rule which belongs only to me. —
" Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image," &c. Do not
rebel against me, and against that
allegiance which thou owest to me.
— " Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain." Do
not libel or blaspheme my dignity,
by vainly invoking my Holy Name.
— " Remember the sabbath-day to
keep it holy." This is enacted to
attest not only that the Lord has
created heaven and earth, (which no
one but the atheist denies,) but like-
wise, that this world, created out of
nothing, was called into existence at
the will of the Creator ; which will
still maintains its activity ; that,
therefore, wonders, [or an alteration
of the course of nature, may take
place ; since the will which first
gave being unto nature still retains
and exercises its supreme influence,
as is proved by the events in Egypt,
and the exit from the tyrant's land.
And the Sabbath is declared to be a
day of universal rest, to " remember
that thou wast a bondman in the
land of Egypt, and the Lord thy
God brought thee forth from thence,
with a mighty hand and outstretched
arm : therefore the Lord thy God
commandeth thee to keep the sab-
bath-day." I released thee from the
house of bondage, and constituted
thee a nation, by the exercise of the
same will with which I created the
universe. The laws of nature which
I then laid down I suspended in thy
favour, in order to release thee.
Therefore, the day which I blessed
and sanctified in memory of creation
shall be to thee an everlasting mo-
nument of thy liberation and of my
omnipotence. Thia sublime con-
nexion between the creation of the

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

395

universe, and the deliverance from
Egypt, both conveyed by and ex-
pressed in the Sabbath, is alluded
to by our Rabbles of blessed me-
mory. -;ir;, "remember," -,Trr\
" and keep," were both expressed at
once. (Talmud, treatise, Berachoth,
folio 20; treatise, Rosh Hoshanah,
folio 27 ; and Shevungoth, folio 20.)
Their meaning is, that the verse
which institutes the sabbath in me-
mory of creation, (Exodus xx. 8-11,)
and the other verse which appoints
it as commemorative of the exit
from Egypt, (Deut. v. 12-15,) form
together but one whole, expressive
of the connexion between the two
events which we have just eluci-
dated. (Amongst the many expound-
ers of Holy Writ, and of the Tal-
mudic passage which we have quoted,
we have never yet met with one who
gave satisfaction to our minds on
this subject: We therefore think
that this our exposition will be re-
ceived as consonant with reason and
truth.) — "Honour thy fatherand thy
mother," &c. The Monarch who
founded your empire does not every
day renew his visit to his subjects.
Those who have not experienced the
sufferings of slavery may forget the
great and manifold mercies bestowed
on their ancestors, and consequently
on "themselves, by their Supreme
Ruler. The knowledge of these
mercies is preserved by transmission
from father to son'; and as the faith of
succeeding ages rests entirely on this
tradition from father to son, the com-
mand to honour and obey parents,
although in itself it regulates the
conduct of man towards his fellow-
creatures only, does, nevertheless,
take its place on the first table ; as
the reverence due from children to
their parents is so closely united
with the faith which the former are
to place in the instruction communi-
cated by the latter, as to render the
observance of this commandment
one of the duties which man owes to
his Creator. We will now continue
our simile. Having thus laid down

* The command to keep and sanctify the
Sabbath-da v commences in Exodus with
the word T^t, " remember," and in Deuter-
onomy with -n-r, "keep/' These two
words, the Rabbles say, were pronounced
at once.

the fundamental laws of the consti-
tution, the next care is to ordain
those statutes which are to regulate
the conduct of man as a member of
society. .The first is, respect for the
person of his fellow-man : " Thou
shalt not [commit] murder." A
succeeding command enjoins respect
for his property : " Thou shalt not
steal." But the latter is preceded
by a command which enforces the
rights of person and of property, by
enjoining respect for the honour of
his fellow-man : " Thou shalt not
commit adultery;" a man's wife
being at once his own person and
his most precious property. Having
thus prohibited the violation of per-
son, honour, and property, by direct
deed, the Legislator proceeds to pro-
tect these three most valuable ob-
jects of terrestrial care from the in-
direct violence of falsehood, perjury,
and subornation : " Thou shalt not
bear false witness against thy neigh-
bour." The four preceding com-
mandments defined the precise duties
of man towards his fellow-man, the
observance of which is imperative
upon him ; as the former five de-
fined his duties towards his supreme
Legislator and Ruler. The last of
the ten commandments prescribes
his duties towards himself, and the
mastery he is bound to exercise over
bis passions and desires : " Thou
shalt not covet, &c." Thus all the
laws and instructions which are indis-
pensably and essentially required to
insure the felicity of man, are con.
tained in the two tables, — in the
first, those relating to man as an
individual ; — hi the second, those
which regard man as a member of
civil society.

These two principal classes of
duties are, doubtless, the end and
aim of Divine legislation ; and under
some one or other of them, all other
commandments may properly be
ranged. Which of these two classes
is entitled to take precedence of the
other, is as yet undecided. Each of
them has found adherents among
our Rabbies, who argue in support
of the respective claims of each class :
As it is said in Torath Cohanan (folio
55) ; " Rabbi Akiba saith, Thou shalt
lore thy neighbour as thyself," (Lev.
xix. IS,) is the great principle of the

396

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE~RABBIES.

law. Ben Asai saith, This is the
book of the generations of man, (Gen.
v. 1,) is the great principle of the
law." Their meaning we have fully
illustrated in the twenty-fourth chap-
ter of our First Division ; to which
we refer.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE principal rule for the con-
sideration of man is, that, in matters
of religion, the intention of the in-
most heart alone is decisive : As
the proverh of our Rabhies of blessed
memory expresses it, in the Tal-
mud, (treatise Sanhedrin, folio 106,)
UO Nib morn, "The Merciful
(God) desires the heart only." It is
consequently possible that a man
may strictly observe many com-
mandments without perceiving that
the perfection of his purpose is there-
by advanced, either at all, or in any
considerable degree, or sufficiently
to attain the end proposed : As, on
the contrary, it is possible that a
man may observe one commandment
only, but with such purity of inten-
tion, that the perfection of his pur-
pose is thereby in a very consider-
able degree advanced. And it is not
the positive or active obedience alone,
but likewise the negative or passive,
which may thus advance the true
aim of man's existence on earth.
All depends on purity of heart and
intention. As the endeavour to at-
tain perfection is, in Holy Writ,
called vs-m nab ill, "Thou shalt
walk in His ways," (Deut. xxviii.
9,) it is evident that this walking in
the ways of God is the chief service
and worship of the Deity. Accord-
ingly we find the Sacred Singer tell-
ing us, that not only does active ob-
servance, but also passive obedience,
lead to perfection, and is entitled to
be called " the ways of God." Thus
he sings : " Blessed are the harmless
in the way, who walk in the law of
the Lord." (Psalm cxix. i.) Blessed
are the faithful who are not vainly
proud in their own conceit, but be-
lieve in and obey the law of the Lord.
— Who are they who walk in the
law of the Lord ? He replies,
" Blessed are they that keep his tes-
timonies, and that seek him with the
whole heart " — They who observe

his commandments, and obey his
laws with a pure intention and per-
fect devetedness of heart. But, in
order that man may not fall into the
error of supposing that the positive
commands of the Deity alone enable
man to attain the perfection of his
purpose through a pure heart, he
adds, " Even those who do no ini-
quity, they also walk in his ways :"
He who abstains from doing evil,
through a conscientious and truly
pure motive, likewise advances the
true purpose of his being. Should
any one express surprise at the pos-
sibility of passively attaining perfec-
tion, we must observe, that neither
the Sacred Singer nor we ourselves
mean a man who is altogether inert
or impassible. Our meaning is, that
if a man strongly desires something
which is forbidden, and to the enjoy-
ment of which opportunity and im-
punity tempt him, but from which he
abstains through a pure and heart-
felt motive, such abstinence or pas-
sive obedience will likewise promote
the true perfection of man's purpose.
It therefore is decided as a jfact, that
obedience to any of the Divine com-
mands, either active or passive, pro-
vided it emanate from a pure heart
and intention, can advance man's
true welfare.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE Divine laws which guide and
lead man on to eternal felicity, are,
as we have already enumerated, di-
vided into three classes. 1. The
knowledge of God. 2. Statutes. 3.
Judgments. Each of these classes
contains both positive and negative
commands respecting certain acts
which man is to do or abstain from
doing, both of which respectively
promote the true end and aim of his
being. Such are, — of the first class,
the knowledge r>f God, — POSITIVE
commands, as, to believe in the ex-
istence of God, his unity, immateri-
ality, &c. : — NEGATIVE commands,
which forbid to entertain the idea that
there is any god beside the Great
First Cause, not to study the rites of
idolatrous worship, &c. Statutes
are likewise POSITIVE, as, the com-
mand to wear fringes on their gar-
ments, &c.; or NEGATIVE, as, the pro.

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RA.BBIES.

397

hibition to wear mixed garments,
&c. Judgments command POSITIVE-
LY : " In righteousness shalt thou
judge thy neighbour." (Lev. xix. 15.)
" At his day thou shalt give him his
hire." (Deut. xxiv. 15.) "Thou
shalt furnish him liberally ;" (Deut.
xv. 14 ;) with many others. There
are likewise many prohibitions, as,
" Ye shall not, therefore, oppress one
another." (Lev. xxv. 17.) "Ye shall
not steal, neither deal falsely, nor
lie one to another ; " (Lev. xix. 11;)
with many others. That each of
these three classes thus comprises
actions which are acceptable to the
Deity, and therefore to be performed,
and likewise others which are repre-
hensible in His sight, and therefore
to be abstained from, is beyond all
doubt. But the objection may be
urged : " How can that class of com-
mandments called judgments promote
eternal felicity ? as although they
are moral, and indispensable to the
well-being of man, yet they do not
appear to have any connexion with
the immortality of the soul and its
after- state." Were we to concede
that this objection is well-founded, a
great part of the Divine laws would
lose their religious character, and
sink into a mere moral code, without
any influence on the future state of
the soul. We can therefore not make
any such concession, but are ready to
meet and solve this difficulty in the
following manner : The performance
of every commandment is composed
of two distinct parts : 1. The action ;
2. The intention and purpose by
which that action is accompanied.
The true perfection which results to
a man from the observance of any
command is not the offspring of the
mere action only, but of the intention
with which it is undertaken : So
that, though the former is indis-
pensable, the latter constitutes its
true merit. It is therefore possible
that, on two men performing the
same action, to the one it may be
meritorious, and to the other un-
availing. Such being the case, even
those enactments of the law which
relate to man in his social state, de-
rive the merit of their observance
from the intention of the observer.
Were they human laws only, calcu-
lated to extend no further than the

welfare of the community, and to
enforce good morals, the action alone
is all that the legislator can take
under cognizance : But, being Di-
vine, and intended to secure to man
eternal felicity, the intention, as well
as the action, comes under the cog-
nizance of the Legislator ; and, there-
fore, he who performs what these
Judgments ordain, solely with the in-
tention of obeying the Divine com-
mand, does by such obedience influ-
ence his future state : Whereas, in-
dependently of the intention, the
action is only moral. To illustrate
this combined effect of obedience to
the Divine Laws, we cite as an in-
stance the mouth and its accessories
in man : These, although intended
to convey food to the human body
in the same manner as similar organs
do in all other animals, have a fur-
ther purpose, peculiar to man only ;
namely, to articulate sounds, by
means of which he makes his ideas
known to his fellow-men, and utters
his thankful prayers to his Creator.

From what we have here stated, it
ensues, that the commandments of
the law, — such as giving alms to the
poor, to lend to the distressed in his
hour of need, or not to injure or
plunder our fellow-men, — if obeyed
solely from a moral impulse, will ad-
vance him who performs them no
further than to constitute him a good
and useful member of society :
Whereas, if his obedience springs
from the desire of performing the
will of his Creator, and of observing
His Divine Laws, in addition to his
being, as we stated before, a moral
man and useful member of society,
he likewise attains the more exalted
perfection of his purpose, as his
morality becomes a worship of the
Most High, and advances him to
eternal felicity. The law is like the
lighting of a lamp. The action of
lighting the lamp does nothing more
than consume the wick and oil ; but
the intention of him who lights it is,
that he may see by the light. Thus
the action in obeying is merely, as it
were, mechanical : It is the religious
intention which illumines the mind
of him who performs the act which
is the true worship and service of
God, and, as such, leads him on to
immortality. Accordingly, the Royal
3 r

398

THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF FAITH.

Sage compares the commandments
to a lamp, and religion itself to a
brilliant light, when he says, "The
commandment is a lamp, religion is
a light." (Prov. vi. 23.) He intends
thereby to express this sentiment :
The commandment, abstractedly, is
not the end and aim of observance ;
it is only the mere vehicle, or lamp,
to which the religious sentiment and
intention (which causes the com-
mnnd to be obeyed, because it is
the will of God, and acceptable in
his sight) supply the light. Conse-
quently, he whose observance of the
law is confined to the mere perform-

ing of what it commands, independ-
ently of the religious intention,
resembles him who, in intense dark-
ness, walks with a costly lamp,
devoid of any light, and therefore
cannot escape danger, but must go
astray : As the Prophet says, " The
ways of the Lord are right ; the just
shall walk in them, but the trans-
gressors shall fall therein." (Hosea
xiv. 9-) But of him who performs
with proper intention, Solomon saith,
" The path of the just is as the shin-
ing light, that shineth more and
more unto the perfect day," (Prov.
iv. 18,) and is never extinguished.

(To be continued.)

III. THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF FAITH.
APPENDIX TO THE PREFACE OF MAIMONIDES

TO THE TALMUDIC TREATISE

(Continued from page 320.)

THE better to illustrate what we
have hitherto stated, we intend to
append a full and clear exposition of
the articles of faith, which, as Jews,
we are bound to receive and believe.
These articles are thirteen in num-
ber.

ARTICLE I.

THE existence of the Creator :
That is to say, There is a Being,
perfect in all the essentials of exist-
ence. In Him is the being of what-
ever is, and from Him all beings
have their existence. It is impos-
sible to negate or deny his exist-
ence : For were He not, all beings
would cease to exist, and not one of
them would remain or continue to
be : Whereas, on the contrary,
though all other beings were to
cease and no longer to be, He would
still continue in undiminished ful-
ness of perfection. As He is thus
all-sufficient to himself, His is the
only true Unity : Whereas whatever
exists external to him, angels, astral
orbits, and that which they contain,
and all that is above or below, are
dependent on Him for their being.
The principle of this article is con-
tained in the Divine declaration, " I
am the Lord thy God,"fc&c.

ARTICLE II.

THE Unity of the Holy One :
(Blessed be He !) That is to say,
He, the First Great Cause of all ex-
istence, is One. His Unity is not
like a collective unity ; nor a unity
of kind or species ; nor a unity like
man, forming part of a whole ; nor
a material unity, which is divisible
into an infinite number. But [He
(blessed he, HE!) is one, and his
Unity is absolute, and not to be
equalled by or assimilated to any other
species of unity whatsoever. The
principle of this article is contained
in the declaration of the law : " Hear,
O Israel ! the Lord our God, the
Lord is one."

ARTICLE III.

His immateriality : That is to say,
The Holy One is not material, has
no corporeal powers, and is not sub-
ject to the accidents of matters ; such
as motion, rest, or occupying space,
and does not sit or stand : As the
prophet saith, " To whom will ye
liken me, or shall I be equal, saith
the Holy One ? " All those expres-
sions in Holy Writ which assign to
the Deity material qualities or acci-
dents,— such as, that he goes, sits,

\

THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF FAITH.

399

or stands, speaks, &c., — are merely
in conformity with the way of speak-
ing usual amongst men and their
common parlance. The principle of
this article is contained in the de-
claration of the law, "Ye have seen
no manner of similitude."

ARTICLE IV.

His priority OlIDTp) : That is to
say, The Holy One is positively, ab-
solutely primary. All beings exter-
nal to him take priority relatively to
each other : Whereas He is primary
to all. The principle of this article
is contained in many declarations of
Holy Writ, particularly in the bless-
ing of Moses. (Deut. xxxiii. 27.)

ARTICLE V.

THAT worship, adoration, and
obedience are due to him alone, and
not to any created being ; — such as
angels, celestial luminaries, astral
orbits, elements, or any of their
component parts ; — as He alone pos-
sesses absolute will and power :
Whereas, these have neither will
nor power of their own, are created
for specific purposes, and are no
mediators between Him and man;
nor can they render Him propitious.
Therefore, all the thoughts of man,
setting aside all created beings, are
to be directed to Him only. The
principle of this article is contained
and enforced in numerous declara-
tions of the law.

ARTICLE VI.

THAT prophecy does exist : That
is to say, It is incumbent on man to
know that some individuals of his
species have been endowed with
such excellent qualities and perfec-
tions, that their souls were suscep-
tible of receiving the impressions of
absolute intellect. The impressions
they thus received emanated from
the perfect intelligence of the Cre-
ator ; and .the individuals, thus
highly exalted, were prophets, or
messengers of the Most High.
The principle of this article is de-
clared throughout every part of
Holy Writ.

ARTICLE VII.

THAT Moses,' our teacher, (peace
be with him !) is the father of all
the Prophets, both of such as pre-
ceded or succeeded him : That is to
say, that he holds the most eminent
rank amongst all the prophets of
the Lord, whether they were before
or after. He was selected from out
of the whole human race, and attain-
ed a greater knowledge of the Most
High than any other man ever did
or ever will attain. He surpassed
the standard of human perfection,
and acquired angelic qualifications.
No obstacle impeded his clear and
perfect contemplation of the Deity,
so far as such contemplation is
possible to any created being of
whatever degree. His intellect was
not obscured or circumscribed by
corporeal influence or weakness :
He had overcome the force of imagi-
nation, and of the senses, and like-
wise of their effects ; was divested
of desire, and became purely intel-
lectual. Therefore Holy Writ de-
clares, that he conversed with the
Deity directly and without any in-
termediate means of communication.
His prophetic power was different
from that of all other prophets in
four respects : 1 . The Divine com-
munication to other prophets was by
means of an angel or intermediate
messenger : Whereas to him it was
direct, as the Divine law declares,
" Mouth to mouth I speak to him."
2. Other prophets received the Di-
vine communication in a trance,
when all their corporeal faculties
were completely suspended ; which
state is called n;n^ or nt*~?, cision;
while Moses continued in full self-
possession, as his human condition
and pure intellect were inseparably
united ; as is said in Holy Writ,
" Stand still, and I will hear what
the Lord will command." 3. Other
prophets, although the Divine com-
munication was imparted to them
through an angel and in a vision,
experienced terror and agitation :
"S\ hereas Moses, although in imme-
diate converse with the Deity, did
not experience any terror, as his pure
intellect became attached to creative
intelligence : As Holy Writ declares,
"And the Lord spake to Moses face

3 F 2

400

THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF FAITH.

to face, as a man speaketh to his
neighbour." 4. Other prophets re-
ceived the Divine communication at
such certain times and seasons as it
pleased the Deity to impart the same
to them ; often remained without any
communication during a long period
of time ; and sometimes required con-
siderable preparations tt> render them-
selves capable of receiving the same :
Whereas Moses preserved a continu-
al state of susceptibility, proper for
the reception of the Divine commu-
nication whenever he applied for the
same: As it is said, "And Moses
brought their cause before the Lord."

ARTICLE VIII.

THAT the law of God has been re-
vealed from heaven : That is to say,
The whole law imparted to the Isra-
elites by Moses, such as we now have
it, was communicated to him directly
by the Deity. No part of it was the
work of Moses, but the whole was
dictated by God, and written down
by Moses verbatim. Every part of
the book which contains this law is
alike holy and Divine ; consequently,
every narrative or phrase which it
contains, even, — "The sons of Ham
were Cush, Mizraim," &c. ; " The
name of his wife was Mehitabel ;" or
"Timnahwas the concubine," &c.,
— are of equal sanctity with the
words, " I am the Lord thy God,"
or with, " Hear, O Israel ! " &c.; as
the whole of the book, and every
part of its contents, proceeded from
the Omnipotent, is the law of the
Lord, and, as such, most holy. Our
duty is to imitate the example of
David, the anointed of the Lord, who
prays : " Open mine eyes, that I may
behold wonders in thy law." The re-
ceived exposition of the law likewise
proceeds from the Omnipotent. And
the manner and form in which we at
present observe the commandments
of the tabernacle, the four vegeta-
bles, the trumpets, the fringes, the
phylacteries, and others of a like
kind, are precisely the same as the
observance commanded to Moses.
He enjoined these observances on
us, and his mission was true : As is
declared in Holy Writ : "And Moses
said, Hereby ye shall know that the
Lord hath sent me to do all these

works, and that I have not done
them from my own heart."

ARTICLE IX.

THAT the law of God is immuta-
ble : That is to say, Nothing can be
taken from this law or added to it :
As is declared in Holy Writ.

ARTICLE x.

THAT the Holy One (blessed be
HE !) knoweth and observeth the
works of man : That is to say, Those
are wrong who say, " The Lord has
abandoned the earth;" but, ou the
contrary, as the prophet declares,
" The Lord is great in counsel, and
mighty in deed : " And, " Thine
eyes are on the ways of all the sons
of man, to reward man according to
his ways, and the fruit of his deeds :"
And as Holy Writ in another place
declares : "The Lord SAW that the
wickedness of man was great on
earth."

ARTICLE XI.

THAT the Holy One rewards those
who obey his commandments, and
punishes those who are transgress-
ors. The highest reward is eternal,
and in a future state ; the greatest
punishment is Ji15» "annihilation."
Thus the Deity declares to Moses :
" Whosoever has sinned against me,
him will I blot out of my book."

ARTICLE XII.

THAT Messiah will come : That is
to say, However long his coming
may be delayed, we are not to re-
nounce it in despair, but are still to
be convinced that come he assuredly
will ; though we are not to attempt,
from passages of Holy Writ, to cal-
culate or determine the precise time
of his advent. We are to believe
that he will be superior to any
monarch that ever has been : As is
predicted by all the prophets from
Moses unto Malachi, — peace be with
them ! — and also in the prophecy of
Balaam, which has been received
into the Sacred Scriptures. This

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

401

article comprises the principle, that
the Israelites will have no other
anointed King than a descendant of
David, of the lineage of Solomon.
And whosoever rebels against that
dynasty offends against the law of
God.

ARTICLE XIII.

THE resurrection of the dead :
That is to say, That in due time the
dead, in conformity with the will of
God, will arise from their graves to
everlasting life.

IV. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

n:2. PASSOVER.

IF the history of all nations claims
our attention, because the past offers
its instruction to guide us how to
act for the future, the history of the
Jews, in addition to this, teaches us,
what will take place hereafter. We
devote the present article to the
Passah festival, established to com-
memorate events which took place
upwards of thirty centuries ago. All
of our readers are doubtless suffici-
ently acquainted with the history of
our nation to know, that the Israel-
ites were bond-men in Mizraim ;
that Divine Omnipotence evinced its
interposition in a series of miracu-
lous events, which at once punished
the tyrannic task-master, and restor-
ed our ancestors to freedom. The
minute facts are recorded in a book
written a.t the time, and acknow-
ledged as authentic by the greatest
part of the civilized world. When we
say this, we mean, that the various re-
ligious systems prevailing in Europe,
in a great part of Asia, of Africa,
and of America, and which claim to
be founded on Divine Revelation,
however differing in their tenets,
how much soever at variance in their
doctrines, however inimically dis-
posed towards each other, yet all
agree in holding up this book as the
law of the living God, imparted to
man by direct revelation from above.
And it is worthy of remark, that
those inhabitants of this terrestrial
globe who do not know or admit the
Divine authority of this book, are
yet in the infancy of civilization, and
have adopted systems of religion so
puerile, superstitious, and contrary
to reason, that no civilized infidel,
who refuses to bow to the authority
of this book, (in opposition to the
practice of the immense majority of
his fellow-citizens,) would for an in-
stant think of adopting those systems.

We mention the extensive authority
conceded to the Bible not as of itself
furnishing any sufficient proof of the
Divine origin of that book, but be-
cause in this enlightened age of
science and discovery, when men
boast of their profound research,
mature investigation, and ripe judg-
ment, very few, in matters of religion,
possess sufficient strength of mind
and of principle to be guided by the
unbiassed conviction of their own
minds ; (as was Abraham in his days ;)
but most men are swayed and influ-
enced by numbers ; and the more
extended is the suffrage in support
of any particular opinion, the more
convinced they become of its truth.
We, however, can dispense with this
adventitious support : God's holy
law, the books in which it is record-
ed, are an inheritance descended to
us from our fathers, as it reached
them from theirs. They assuredly
would not deceive us, any more than
their fathers would deceive them :
And when they tell us, " This is what
we received from our fathers, _who
received it from theirs ; each suc-
ceeding generation from their pre-
decessors up to those who witnessed,
at the very time, the events record-
ed in this book, which, unalter-
ed, we now confide to you;" — when
they tell us this, we have no reason-
able right to doubt their veracity, as
they can have no probable motive to
abuse our confidence.

One of the events related in that
book is the miraculous exit of the
Israelites from Mizraim. This rela-
tion is held to be so very important,
that, in very many passages of Holy
Writ, the fact is repeated, and nu-
merous laws and observances are en-
joined in order to perpetuate its
memory. It is true, that some Brit-
ish Jew, — looking to the many and

402

SPIRIT OK THE JEWISH RELIGION.

wonderful changes which every na-
tion on earth has, during the last
thirty centuries, experienced, and
feeling comfortable in the undisturb-
ed security of person, property, and
opinion, — may ask, " What could
" have been the difference to me in-
" dividually, had the Israelites not
" been wonderfully liberated from
" their bondage? Amongst those who
" own the sway of Egypt's Pacha,
" there may not be one whose line-
" age ascends to the ancient oppress-
" ors of Israel. Without any direct
' intervention of the Deity, the Jew-
' ish people would doubtless, in
' course of time, have been freed
' from the yoke of slavery ; and I
' should probably have been what
' I am, a native of Britain, though
' the Red Sea had not opened to give
' a safe passage to the descendants
' of Jacob. What, then, to me are
' events which occurred upwards of
' three thousand years ago ? Why
' am I to be inconvenienced by nu-
' merous observances which have no
' other purpose than to keep up the
"memory of these far gone-by
"events?" To such questions we,
in the first instance, answer : It is
possible, that you might have been
what now you are, a native of Great
Britain, although your ancestors
might never have crossed the Red
Sea ; but it is certain, that, had the
Jews never been released by the
strong hand of the Deity visibly dis-
played, neither Britain nor the whole
civilized world would have been what
at the present day it is. You ask,
What are these observances to you ?
We answer, The house of Israel was.
selected for a peculiar people. As
in that people the tribe of Levi, and
in that tribe the family of Aaron,
were set apart for the service of the
Lord ; so is the Israelite among the
nations of the earth : For Aaron still
remained an Israelite, and the Israel-
ite still remains a man ; not selected
for his own selfish advantage, but to
promote the purpose of the Great
Father of all, for the good of all.
And as you are one of this peculiar
people, the observances confided to
them by the Deity are sacred to you.
You owe them obedience, — because
they are commanded by God, — be-
cause you are bound to teach them

to others, and to show them what has
been and what will be, — because you
are a link in the great chain of evi-
dence which must not be interrupted
or broken, — and, lastly," because1) it
is your duty to transmit to your chil-
dren what you received from your
father : As it is declared in Holy
Writ, "And it shall be when thy
son asketh thee in time to come,
saying, What is this ? that thou shalt
say unto him, With a strong hand
the Lord brought us out of Egypt."
(Exodus xiii. 14.)

We have said, that, but for the
miraculous exit from Mizraim, the
state of the world would have been
widely different from what it now is';
and, also, that the Israelites, selected
to be a peculiar people, were consti-
tuted to be a priestly nation, the in-
structers of the whole human race.
If these two assertions are true, — and
that they are so, we think no one can
deny, — we may be permitted freely to
examine the history of their exit, and
its consequences. And, though we
do not intend to enter fully into
details, sufficiently known to every
reader of the Bible, yet a brief inves-
tigation of general results will enable
us to establish three principles most
important to every man.

We live in an age when nothing
supernatural or miraculous is seen ;
but whatever occurs bears the stamp
of ordinary nature. The principal
occupations and views of individuals,
as well as of nations, are confined to
their earthly span, and to their mun-
dane career. No startling wonder,
no astounding inversion of the course
of nature, rouses man from his apa-
thy. The direct and miraculous
interposition of Providence no longer
strikes home to the breasts of mor-
tals. The stupendous effects sud-
denly produced by the evident and
overpowering operations of the Great
Controller of all nature, as well as of
all supernatural causes, are no longer
visible on earth. And when a per-
son of ordinary understanding reads
the history of olden times, he may,
with the Sacred Singer, exclaim :
" Where are thy wonders and thy
mighty deeds, which our ancestors
related to us ? " Nor do we of the
present day alone ask that question :
Short-sighted man has ever been

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOX.

403

prone to forget the past and the
future in the present. Even the
Israelites, whilst groaning under the
yoke of Pharaoh, forgot the promise
of their God ; and though the well-
remembered assurance of the patri-
arch, " God will surely visit you,"
ought to have inspired them with
confidence and hope, they, too, were
alive but to the present. They neg-
lected, as we ourselves neglect, to
consider that, to the Supreme Being,
there is no gradation of time : Past,
present, and to come, can appear
scarcely as an instant in his eternity :
And to Him, THE xow, and its inex-
plicable contradictions and incon-
gruities, are so clear, and devoid of
obscurity, as to be easily reconciled
with the grand and benevolent pur-
poses of Heaven, (even in the finite
conceptions of erring creatures,) by
that which is to follow.

The history which we are examin-
ing tells us, that Abraham, a just
and pious man, through his faith and
active virtue, was selected from the
mass of mankind, honoured with the
friendship of^his Creator ; and a pro-
mise was given to him, that his
descendants, particularly those of his
legitimate son Isaac, were destined
for peculiar purposes, beneficial to all
the human race. But at the very
time when this gracious promise was
made, Abraham was likewise in-
formed, that these, his highly
favoured descendants, should, during
four hundred years, be slaves, op-
pressed and maltreated in a strange
land ; but that, at the expiration of
that period, they would be liberated,
and leave that hostile land ; and that
this prediction was actually accom-
plished, through a series of events
brought about, partly by the direct
and evident interposition of Pro-
vidence, but principally by the
apparent free-agency of man, which
evinced itself virtuously as well as
criminally in those transactions, but
which, in either case, were instru-
mental to the great purpose intended.
The immediate cause which brought
the descendants of Abraham to
Mizraim, was the criminal hatred of

(To be continued.)

Jacob's sons towards their younger
brother Joseph ; which prompted
ttiem to the barbarous deed of con-
signing him to exile and slavery.
The consequences of this foul crime
were taken up by Infinite Wisdom
into the plans of his Providence :
They were over-ruled to be the main
instruments in fulfilling those su-
premely wise designs. Still the deed
was foul, criminal, and is not in the
least to be extenuated by the bene-
ficial results to which it was made to
conduce. And though the generous
and forgiving disposition of Joseph,
to soften the pangs of conscience
and the agony of self-reproach which
tortured his guilty brethren, prompt-
ed the expression, "It was not YOU
who sent me hither, but GOD," yet
the small still voice within them was
not silenced ; and though they could
not but admit that their guilty deed
had, by the marked and merciful
interposition of Divine Providence,
been rendered subservient to a salu-
tary purpose, yet they felt that their
individual guilt and responsibility
remained unaltered. This introduc-
tion to the events which are to follow
teaches us, that, though man is a
free, and therefore a responsible,
agent, yet whatever he does is sub-
servient to the great designs of Pro-
vidence. In vain do the crimes of
man attempt to interrupt the great
order and regularity of the whole,
which Omnipotence maintains with
irresistible might. However man
may destroy the felicity of his own
soul, his inward peace; however
unhappy the slave of evil passions
may render himself, all his deeds
must eventually accomplish the wise
purposes of Heaven, which controls
alike the war of passions, and that of
elements. Tyranny and vice in the
moral world execute the Divine com-
mands, as do thunder and subterra-
nean fire in the natural world. An
evil, moral as well as physical, must
eventually, under the control of an
A 1-wise Direction, promote the uni-
versal good, till every thing shall join
in that grand harmony which was the
chief purpose of creation..

404

V. ESSAY ON THE ANCIENT SCHOOLS OF THE ISRAELITES.

FROM THE trnjm ni5S: FOB 5583. (1823.)

(Continued from page 388 J

BORN at a period when Uranism,
or the worship of original fire, con-
sidered as symbolical of a Deity who
rewards and punishes, was the pre-
vailing system of religion through-
out the east, Abraham, whose reason
had, by the grace of God, and by
intense reflection become matured
and purified, endeavoured to gain the
ruler of his native land, Nimrod,
over to the truth. The ancient ori-
ental writers relate many curious
legends respecting this fruitless
attempt at conversion. The tradi-
tions both of the Jews, (Medrash
Rabbah,) and of the Persians, (Ghu-
listan,) relate the remarkable con-
versations that took place between
Abraham and Nimrod. According
to both traditions, Abraham was by
Nimrod condemned to be immolated
as a sacrifice to the fire, the divinity
of which he had denied : He accord-
ingly was thrown into a fiery fur-
nace, from which, however, he went
forth unhurt. This legend is re-
ceived as true by most eastern
nations. The Koran has these
words : "I caused the fire into which
Abraham was thrown to become
cool and agreeable." The Persian
Saadi, in his Ghulistan, " Flower-
Garden," has preserved the follow-
ing legend : After Abraham had
repeatedly been preserved in a mira-
culous manner from the murder-
ous attempts of Nimrod, he at
length challenged him to decide
the contest. " Come, O king," said
he ; " come forth with all thine
host. Alone will I meet thee ; nor
do I require any other arms than
prayers to my God, to confound thy
might and power." Nimrod, in a
state of irritation, marched out to
seize him; when, lo! millions of
gnats swarmed before Nimrod's
hosts, and darkened the air. A gnat
flew on his forehead ; he chased it
thence : It fixed on his nose ; again
he drove it away : It then flew up
his nostrils, crept into his brain, and
caused the most excruciating agony,

(To be continued.)

from which he knew no relief except
by the beating of a hammer on his
thick skull. This punishment he
suffered during four years, until he
died. The more ancient Arabian
writers, likewise, related that Nimrod
was punished by a gnat piercing his
brain ; but the reason which they
assign is different. They related
that, having miscarried in building
his projected tower at Babel, he at-
tempted to scale the heavens in a
carriage, to which he harnessed
enormous birds ; in the east called
kerkes or " rocks ; " and that when
about to start, he was prevented by a
gnat which flew up his nostrils."*

Such are the legends of Abraham
and Nimrod which the eastern world
in all ages has preserved. The Sa-
cred Scriptures do not relate them ;
though there can be no doubt that
Abraham's preservation from Tm,
(either the fire or the city} was effected
by the interposition of Providence.
There can likewise be no doubt that
the doctrines of the pious teacher
found many adherents in his native
land. The Brahmins, who acknow-
ledge as their first legislator the
divine Bramah, the similarity of
whose name with Abraham, has led
many to identify him with the patri-
arch, pretend to be possessed of the
most ancient book at present exist-
ing in the world, which they call
shaster, or " vedahs," and which
contains doctrines arid maxims that
certainly must have originated in
the school of Abraham : Such are —
God is eternal : He is an absolute
unity : The Creator of all that exists :
He rules and governs the universe
by means of his Providence and ac-
cording to those immutable laws
which have been laid down by himself :

* To those of our readers who are con-
versant with the Talmud and Medrasliim,
it may not be uninteresting to compare
these legends with the gnat of Titus, in the
Talmud, treatise ( Get tin perek Hanezekin,)
in the Pirke R. Eleazar, and in the Me-
drash Rulibah.

LONDON :— Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square.

MAGAZINE OF RABBIXICAL LITERATURE.

VOL. I.

No. 26.

I TWEXT Y-SIXTH DAY OF ADAH, 5595.

FRIDAY, 3IARCH 27, 183o.

J. THE MISHNA.

rc^D, Mescheth Aboth .- "THE ETHICS OF THE FATHERS."

]l-~ P. COMMENTS BY NAPHTALI HIRTS WESSELY.

( Continued from page 3Q3.)

EACH of them left ertain maxims : R. Eleazar said, " Let the honour of thy disciple be
dear unto thee li> c thine own. Be not easily excited to anger. Do penance one day
before thy death." (II. 14.)

COMMENTARY. Let the honour of
thy disciple be dear, $c. — In social
life there is no connexion more impor-
tant or more endearing than that be-
tween the tutor and his pupils. A
man's parents bestow on him life ;
the corporeal frame is their gift ; like
a casket, it contains the jewel with-
in,— the mind : But it is education,
instruction, and precept, which
polishes the jewel, and stamps its
value. Whatever in after-times man
may become, whatever of moral
worth or social influence he may ac-
quire, is to be traced to the lessons
and impressions of his early youth ;
even the knowledge of God and of
his laws he owes to the instruction
of his tutors. Our teacher therefore
wishes to impress on those who un-
dertake the task of guiding youth in
the path they ought to walk, the im-
portance of their duties : And as, to
a well regulated mind, nothing is
more precious than true honour,
which, properly understood, com-
prises every religious and moral vir-
tue ; our teacher cannot more com-
pletely point out the nature of these
transcendant duties, than by recom-
mending preceptors to consider the
honour of their pupils as valuable as
their own, and that, whatever repute
the disciple may, in after-life, acquire,
the tutor shares bis praise, or par-
takes of bis odium.

Be not easily excited to anger —
Our teacher does not bid us never to

become wroth; for, giving way to the
passion of anger is, by all the Rab-
bies, considered as one of the most
pernicious errors of the mind ; for
well known is their saying, that
"whosoever suffers himself to be ex-
cited to rage, is as if he worshipped
strange gods " Nor is there any
exaggeration in this maxim ; for it
is impossible that the mind should,
at the same time, harbour thoughts
of God and anger ; and when a man
becomes enraged, his passion, for a
time, usurps that sway which belongs
only to his Creator. It is, therefore,
not the actual outbreaking of furious
passion that our teacher here cau-
tions us against, as, by an effort of
the mind, that may easily be re-
strained ; his precept tends to guard
us against the disposition which is
susceptible of being easily excited to
anger. Further : His meaning is not
only that we are to govern our tem-
pers in our intercourse with man-
kind, or giving instruction to pu-
pils ; but that, in reflecting on the
occurrences of the moral world, we
are still to preserve our equanimity,
nor be carried away to indignation at
the seeming prevalence of wrong.
He who is acquainted with the hu-
man heart knows, that the first in-
stigation to immoral actions is caused
by inward anger, and dissatisfaction
at the apparent injustice which pre-
dominates in the moral world, and
which roavbe irreconcilable to man's

3 G

406

Tlio MISJ1NA.

ideas. To this Solomon alludes when
he says, " Oppression maketh a wise
man mad, and perverts the generous
heart." (Eccles. vii. 70 His mean-
ing is, that the departure from the
path of wisdom and virtue is gene-
rally caused by the indignant reflec-
tion, that the just and wise are often
oppressed and suffering, while the
wicked prosper. The prophet like-
wise complains, " Why dost thou
shew me iniquity, and cause me to
behold grief ? for spoiling and vio-
lence are before me ; and strife and
force prevails. Therefore the law is
slackened, and -judgment doth never
go forth : For the wicked doth com-
pass about the righteous ; therefore
wrong judgment proceedeth ; " (Ha-
bakkuk i. 3, 4 ;) meaning, that the
great moral evils which are daily be-
held pervert men's minds, and cause
them to form a wrong judgment.
But the meekly pious is not prone to
harbour feelings of anger and dis-
content, because he knows that hu-
man reason is insufficient to scan the
counsels of Providence ; he remem-
bers that man's existence is not
limited by the clod of earth in which
he dwells, but that every apparent
wrong will find its remedy, if not
here, at least hereafter : As Solomon
saith, " Better is the end of a thing
than the beginning thereof, and the
patient in spirit than the proud in
spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to
be angry, for anger resteth in the
bosom of fools : " (.Eccles. vii. 8, 9 0
— Be patient when thou dost per-
ceive the perverse occurrences in
the moral world; know that the end
of a thing is better than its beginning ;
and, as the end is not within thy ken,

thou art not in a state to judge of
the whole ; be therefore not too prone
to anger and discontent, for these are
the feelings that will mislead thee to
vice and sin. The same lesson R.
Eleazar teaches us, when he bids us
not to be easily excited to anger, but
patiently endure, rather than repine
and rebel.

Do penance one day before thy death
— The most efficient means that can
be employed to curb the violence of
our passions is the thought on the
frail, transitory, and uncertain tenure
of our lives. The powerful voice of
desire loudly exclaims, " Behold the
earth and its fulness is spread out
before thee ; and those only enjoy
the world who think but of their
pleasures. Why shouldest thou alone
waste thy time in unnatural absti-
nence and idle sufferings ?" To re-
ply to this invitation, man needs but
consider that the greatest of earthly
joys are only short-lived ; that a few
days, nay, that the coming dawn,
may be his last : He who properly
reflects on this subject, will consider
life as but the span of a day, to be
ended on the morrow. This consid-
eration, and also the impropriety of
deferring penitence, (or the firm re-
solve, with the assistance of the Di-
vine Grace, to renounce evil and
pursue good, which resolve, though
acceptable to the Deity, must not be
postponed or adjourned from day to
day,) our teacher impresses on our
minds by the sententious maxim,
"Do penance one day before thy
death " — Consider thy whole life-
time as but one day, and every rising
sun as the immediate precursor of
that which sees thy dissolution.

R. Joshua saith, " An evil eye, (disposition,) evil inclinations, and misanthropy, drive

man out or' the world." (II. 15.)
COMMENTARY. An evil eye, <§-c. —
By the word yin pi> is meant
" envy," or the vexation at another's
good. Some human dispositions
are so perverse, that they suffer more
at beholding the good fortune of
others than at their own actual priva-
tions ; and who cannot enjoy the
good within their reach, because
others possess equal or greater good.
The wordy "in "iV, literally express-
ing, " an evil being," is used, in

Rabbinical phraseology, to personify
evil desires and inclinations ; in this
sense it is likewise used in Holy

Writ: vTunD in triNrt s^iv ^,

"For the nature of man's heart is
evil from his youth." (Gen. viii. 21.)
In this expression are comprised all
the evil desires, passions, and incli-
nations which assail and tempt man.
Misanthropy, or hatred of mankind,
does not denote the wish or disposi-
tion to injure mankind, but the feel.

THE JIISHNA.

407

ing of disgust engendered in the mis-
taken mind of even a good man at
beholding the manifold crimes and
follies of which the human race are
guilty. Looking at their deeds with
a jaundiced eye, he sees nought but
ingratitude fixed in every human
heart, and he detests the wicked
race. These three affections of the
mind, our teacher justly considers as

the bane of human existence : While
enry preys on man's vitals, and tril
desires undermine his physical and
moral health, misanthropy makes life
a burthen ; and nil three, carried to
any height, will lead to mental uoer-
ration, and impel man, unsuuimoned,
to rush into the awful presence of
his Judge.

R. Jose said, "Let thy neighbour's property be dear to thee like thine own. Prepare thy-
self to study the law, for it is no inheritance to thee. Let all thy actions be for
heaven's sake." (II. 16.)

COMMENTARY. Let thy neighbour's
property, fyc. — Our teacher concen-
trates all the duties of religion, of
which he gives us a summary, in his
three precepts : 1 . Observe thy du-
ties towards thy fellow-man ; or, as
the law directs, " Love thy neigh-
bour like thyself." The meaning
certainly is not, that we are equally
to share whatever we possess with
whosoever is less gifted by fortune
than ourselves ; for, if such were the
true intent and purpose of the legis-
lator, it had not bean necessary to
enjoin charity to our neighbour, giv-
ing of alms to the poor, and sup-
porting the distressed, by separate
precepts : But the command to
love our neighbour is most truly
obeyed, by cherishing within us a
feelings of kindness and good-will to-
wards our fellow-men, as strong and
ardent as those we entertain towards
our individual selves ; this will ena-
ble us to bring the same sacrifices to
their welfare, which we are ready to
make when required by our own ;
and inspire us with the sentiment
which our teacher impresses on us,
" Let whatever belongs to thy fel-
low-men be as precious in thine eyes
as if it were thine own." 2. Per-

form thy duties towards thy Cre-
ator. These consist in the know-
ledge of Him, as far as it is possi-
ble for human reason to attain.
This knowledge man does not ac-
quire at once ; but, limited as it is,
it must be gradually acquired, and
his whole life time is but a prepara-
tion to that more perfect knowledge
which is to follow. Therefore our
teacher tells u«, " Prepare thyself to
study the law, for it is no inheritance
to thee." The knowledge of the
Deity and of his law is not to be ac-
quired suddenly and without effort,
as a man steps into an inheritance.
3. The duties towards himself.
These are best observed by having
constantly present to his mind the
great purpose of his being, and the
Benefactor from whom every good is
derived. If such reflections become
his governing principle, whatever he
does will be undertaken with a good
intention. Every deed will be en-
nobled by its motive : And the les-
son which our teacher here gives us,
" Let all thy actions be for heaven's
sake ; " will find its confirmation
in Holy Writ : " In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shell direct
thy paths." (Prov. iii. 6.)

R. SIMON saith, " Be careful in the observance of the Kriath Schmang • and prayera r
When thou prayest, consider not thy prayers as a fixed burthen, but as supplications
for mercy before the Holy One, (blessed be HE !) as it is said, ' He is nierciiul and
gracious, long-suffering, and abundant of goodness, and relents of evil.' ': Be nut
wicked before thyself. (II. 17.)

COMMENTARY. Be careful in the which, as an Israelite, thou o'.vest
observance, $c. — Do not^ neglect the him. The profession of thy faith,
adoration due to thy Creator, and and stated prayers, are every day due

* V- ' ... 13.

3 G'2

408

THE MISHNA.

from thee according to the enact-
ments laid down for thy observance,
at certain hours of the day. Never-
theless, when those hours arrive, do
not look upon thy prayers as a tax
upon thy time, or as a burthen some
obligation, of which thou art forced
to acquit thyself. Remember that
the true purport and intention of
praying is to approach our Most
High Benefactor and Universal Fa-
ther, in order to solicit of his mercy
the pardon of our transgressions, and
to implore his goodness for the need-
ful supply of our wants. Do not
say, "I have repeated this form of
prayers so often, that I now utter
them by rote from memory only.
My heart and mind can no longer
be engaged in this act of worship."
Know, that as thy relations with the
Deity still continue the same ; that,
however pious, thou still needest his
pardon ; that, however wealthy, thou
art still dependent on his goodness ;
that it therefore needs but that thou
shouldst properly reflect on thy own
state, to rivet all thy thoughts on
the purpose for which thou beseech-
est the Deity, and to render thy
prayers what they ought to be, the
fervent supplications of thy inmost
heart : And though the words and
the form in which thy prayers are
offered still continue the same, yet
the source of feeling from whence
they spring is inexhaustible, and the
thoughts to which they give utter-
ance are ever new.

Be not wicked before thyself — Sage
moralists are divided in opinion, re-
specting the subject how man is to
consider himself in his own opinion.
Some maintain that man ought al-
ways to consider himself as guilty,
because as the Sacred Scriptures de-
clare and universal experience proves,
" There is no man on earth who
doeth good and sinneth not." Others
again assert, that, were man to give
way to the feeling of his own guilt
and utter reprobation, it would,'drive
him on to despair, and he would/no
longer hope that his prayers for
mercy may be acceptable to the
Deity. Our teacher recommends to

us a middle course. He says not,
"Be not guilty in thine own opi-
nion," which would require his
using the word T'j'JJU, "in thine
own eyes," but uses the words
TD^ »3Q3, " before thyself," which
we will now more nearly illustrate.
Guilt may be considered in two
respects : One regarding the indi-
vidual man such as he is, with all his
frailties and passions, his good and
his evil inclinations and aptitudes :
The second, regarding his relation
towards the Supreme, whom his
guilt offends. Were man to con-
sider that his guilt is peculiar to
himself as an individual, he would
appear in his own eyes as an utter
reprobate, and therefore unworthy to
address the most pure and immacu-
late Being. Nor can man, on the
contrary, consider himself as guilt-
less in the sight of God ; for that
would be an untruth, opposed alike
to Holy Writ and universal expe-
rience ; and it would endanger his
future bliss, which is obtained solely
from the mercy of God, and not the
reward of man's merits. Our
teacher, wishing alike to preserve
man from the horrors of despair
and the dangers of self-righteous-
ness, tells us, "As man, taking thy
natural frailties and weakness into
consideration, thou canst not look
upon thy guilt as peculiar to thyself
alone : Thou art not therefore to
appear as a i?un, or "wicked, be-
fore thyself," but still it behoves
thee to know, that though thy fail-
ings may be extenuated by the fault-
iness of thy nature, — as Holy Writ
declares, " I will not again curse the
earth for man's sake, for the nature
of man's heart is evil from his
youth ; " (Genesis viii. 28 ;) — yet
thou hast offended against the Most
High, whose law thou hast trans-
gressed and whose will thou hast
slighted. It is therefore thy duty,
with a contrite heart, to implore his
mercy, nor despair of thy pardon :
Thou art a sinner, it is true, but the
richness of his mercy endureth for
ever.

THE MISH.VA.

409

R. EJ.KAZAK saith, " Be assiduous in the study of the law. Know how to answer the
Epicurean : Know before whom thou dost toil, and who is the master who wiU pay

tluv thy wages." < II.
COMMENTARY.
— The word "np

Be assiduous, fyc.
?, derived from the
root "ipti4, expresses great zeal and
assiduous endeavours to penetrate
into something which is closed against
us : As Solomon says, when he pro-
claims the words of wisdom, " Hap-
py the man who heareth me,
'mri'm '?? ----- attentively to
watch my gates every day, waiting at
the posts of my doors." (Prov. viii.
34.) Our teacher directs us to be
assiduously devoted to the study of
the law, in order that we may, by
constant and attentive application,
improve in our knowledge of God
and of his holy will, the more pro-
perly to obey the same. Xor is this
study ever to be considered as com-
pleted; for, the more .we advance in
knowledge, the more convinced we
become how little we know. It is
therefore needful that the same zeal
and application which marks our
first effort should likewise continue
throughout our progress.

Know how to answer the Epicurean
— By the word "•• 7 '•:;<, is meant
an adherent of the sect of Epicu-
rus, or in Taltnudic phraseology an
infidel who denies Divine revelation.
Our teacher directs us to be pre-
pared to meet the cavils of the infi-
del, and to know how to refute his
errors. After having, in the first
instance, exhorted us to be zealous

in our study of the law, he goes on
to tell us, that if it is our fate to
come in contact with ^uch a disput-
ant, we must rely on our knowledge
of the law only to refute his sophis-
tries. For that law, however clearly
and fully approved as a revelation of
the Most High, and however firmly
established as such to our fullest
satisfaction, cannot at once be ex-
pected to carry home conviction to
his benighted mind. Thou must
therefore be prepared so to shape
thy arguments; that they may be
within the comprehension of his un-
fledged reason, gradually working on
his mind, till the triumph of truth be
complete.

Know before whom thou toilest, fyc.
— If a man labours for one of his
own degree, he calculates on his sti-
pulated reward, and looks out that
he may obtain it. But if he happens
to be employed by royalty, his only
care is properly to acquit himself of
his task, as he is convinced that
though his hire is not exactly stipu-
lated, his recompense will be princely.
Thus our teacher tells us : Be not
thou concerned about thy reward :
stay not to inquire about the when,
the how, or the how much. All that
thou needest know is, the Omnipo-
tent and All-bounteous is thy em-
ployer : All that thou needest do is
— thy duty.

R. TARPHOX says : " The day is short, the labour great, the workmen are lazy, the
reward is great. The master is urgent." He continued : " It does not depend on
thee to complete the work. Xor art thou free to withdraw thyself therefrom. Art
thou greatly advanced in the lore of the law, thy reward will be commensurate. And
thy employer is trustworthy, and will duly pay thy wages. But know that the free gift
of reward is hereafter.'' (II. 19.)
COMMENTARY. The day is short,
the labour great, fyc. — This simile is
most correct and perfectly applica-
ble to the human state. Our teacher
compares the service due from man
to his God, to the work performed
by journeymen who have been hired
to erect a building, but must com-
plete their work at sunset, and who

too are well paid for their labour.

quantum of labour to be performed
is great, the labourers are lazy, and
the proprietor urgently persists on
the performance of their contract,
which requires that their task should
be ended by sunset. The journey-
men are greatly embarrassed by the
fear, that, if at sunset their work be
not completed, the contract is void
and their stipulated wages forfeited.

There are, however, four obstacles He therefore consoles them* and says,
in the way. The day is short, the " Ye journeymen, persist in your

410

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABIHK.S.

task : The completion of your work
is not dependent on your efforts
only : Do not think, that, because
you see that you cannot complete the
work, you need not do any part
thereof, but may altogether withdraw
yourselves. No, it is incumbent on
you to use your utmost efforts well
to employ the short day on which
you have scope for your activity.
Fear not that your employer requires
your labour for nothing. Your re-
compense will be commensurate with
your exertions. Though the work be
not finished by you, yet for what ye
have wrought ye will be paid. Rest
assured that your employer is most

honourable and trustworthy ; and
too generous rigorously to insist on
your contract, or to withhold what is
your due. Be not discomposed in
your minds if you see that the la-
bourers must sometimes wait for
their wages, nay, that penury and
want is sometimes their portion on
earth ; but know that the true re-
ward of the righteous and worthy
labourer, who strives to perform his
task and repineth not, i<> reserved
to him hy the free grace of his Master
in that hereafter which knoweth no
termination. The application of this
simile is too obvious to need our aid.

END OF THE SECOND CHAPTER.

II. METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

Sepher Ikkarim : "BOOK OF PRINCIPLES:" BY R. JOSEPH ALBO.
(Continued from page 398.)

CHAPTER XXIX.

IN the course of our investigation,
we now approach a subject of in-
quiry alike important and useful ;
namely, Is the perfection imparted
by the Divine law derived only from
the whole of that law, or likewise
from part thereof? This question,
according to our opinion, is the mat-
ter of dispute between R. Simon the
son of Lakish, and R. Jochanan, in
the Talmud. (Treatise Sanhedrin,
folio 111.) The former asserts, that
whosoever omits the observance of
any one command of the law, is not
entitled to the kingdom of heaven.
The latter, on the contrary, main-
tains, that if man duly and purely
observes b>it one commandment, he
inherits future life. In support of
the assertion of R. Simon, it may he
urged, Why does the Divine Legis-
lation burthen man with numerous
commandments if the opinion of R.
Jochanan be correct, that one com-
mandment, duly observed, will secure
eternal bliss ? Were we disposed to
join the opinion of R. Simon, we are
prevented by a serious obstacle from
going along with him : For if the
salvation of man is dependent on the
full and entire observance of the
whole of the law, it would be impos-
sible to any man to attain the per-
fection of his purpose; as " there is
no man on earth who doeth good

and sinneth not." And as, accord-
ing to R. Simon, the transgression
of any one commandment excludes
man from his eternal inheritance, the
law, which is vouchsafed to mankind
in order that by its guidance they
may attain the perfection of their
purpose, would totally thwart and
render impossible the end and aim
for which it was granted, by exclud-
ing the whole human race ; as not
only the generality of mankind cannot
perform all that it ordains, but even
the pious man, who devotes himself
to the special observance of the law,
can hardly expect to come up to all
its requisitions, or to perform every
one of its minute commands. " Far
be it from God to act unjustly, or
Omnipotence to do wrong." And,
moreover, it is a received and estab-
lished rule, " that all Israel have a
portion in the life to come." (Tal-
mud, treatise Sanhedrin, folio 90.)

To solve the doubt arising from
this difference of opinion, we say,
that, in accordance with that spirit
of our religion which prevails through-
out the whole of the Divine law, the
due and firm observance of one com-
mandment will, as R. Jochanan
saith, enable man to attain the per-
fection of his purpose. The objec-
tion which was urged against this
opinion, and in support of the con-
trary one, " Why are so many com-
mandments enjoined when one is

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

411

sufficient?" we meet by saying, that
just as Providence has bestowed on
animals not only what is conducive
to their welfare and perfection, but
also that which renders their perfec-
tion the greatest possible to which,
according to their nature, they can
attain, (such as the double organs of
the senses, &c.,) so has He bestowed
on us the manifold commands of the
law, in order that we too may be
provided, not only with that which is
conducive to our welfare and perfec-
tion, but also with that which ren-
ders our perfection the greatest pos-
sible which, according to our nature,
we may attain ; and likewise that the
means of our arriving at the great
end and aim of our being, may be
abundantly within our reach ; as the
impediments which thwart man in
the performance of his duty are not
unknown to the Great Author of all.
The law, such as it has been revealed
to us, enables every man to work out
the perfection of his purpose by obey-
ing any one of its commandments,
for God's sake, and with that purity
of intention and performance which
his worship demands. Accordingly,
R. Chanina the son of Akashia said,
(treatise Makkoth, folio 23,) "The
Holy One (blessed be HE !) was gra-
ciously pleased ni2T 5 to render Is-
rael righteous ; therefore he increas-
ed to them the laws and command-
ments : As it is said, ' The Lord is
pleased for his righteousness ; he will
enlarge the law and make it strong.'
(Isaiah xlii. 21.)" Hence it is evi-
dent, that the Rabbies maintain,
that the many commandments of the
law are given to enable us to attain
eternal felicity : Whereas, if the ob-
servance of all be the indispensable
condition, exclusion from that felici-
ty would be the actual result pro-
duced by the commandments. We
likewise read in the Talmud, " R.
Chanina the son of Theradion asked
of R. Jose the son of Kismah, 'What
hopes can I have of future life ?' The
latter replied, ' Hast thou never done
any (good) deed?' R. Chanina an-
swered, 'Occasionally I have be-
stowed alms.' ' From this thou
mayest hope/ was the reply." Thus
we see, that whosoever obeys one of
the six hundred and thirteen com-
mandments of the law, — for God's

sake only, and free from all earthly
and selfish motives, — -will thereby
gain eternal life. But though the
due observance of one precept is suf-
ficient, yet man is bound to obey
all to the utmost of his power ; and
the more complete his obedience, the
more exalted is the degree of perfec-
tion which he attains, and the greater
the efficacy of his prayers. Who-
ever, then, acts in accordance with
the spirit of the law, — his intentions
being pure, and his motive to obey
the will of God, — can and may, by
whatever action he performs, attain
the perfection of his purpose ; in-
stances of which are numerous, and
frequently cited throughout the Tal-
mud.

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE improvement which the soul,
while connected with the body, de-
rives from obeying the command
of the law is, that the fear of
God becomes implanted within it.
Through the possession of this
quality the soul becomes elevated,
and susceptible of enjoying the fore-
taste of eternal bliss, which is that
real good reserved unto man : As
the Sacred Singer says, " How great
is thy goodness which thou hast laid
up for them that fear thee ! " (Psalm
xxx. 19-) In many other places of
the Sacred Scriptures we find the
fear of the Lord enforced, as pro-
moting the eternal happiness of
man. Nor must we ask, Why fear
rather than knowledge of the Lord
should conduce to the perfection of
our purpose, since such is the enact-
ment of Divine Wisdom. Accord-
ingly, when the law directs us, "The
Lord , thy God thou shalt fear ; "
(Deut. vi. 13 ;) this is not only a
special command, but comprises, at
the same time, all other precepts.
Although Abraham was most pious,
believing, and holy in his life and
actions, yet the epithet " God-fear-
ing " was not bestowed on him until
he had gloriously overcome his last
trial ; when it is said, " Now I know
that thou fearest God." (Genesis
xxii. 12.)

The fear of the Lord is a most
sublime and. at the same time, a
most difficult quality for man to at-

413

METAPHYSICS AXD PHILOSOPHY OF THE UAEBIES.

tain ; and the sympathetic effect of
obedience to the Divine laws is,
that they produce in their observer
genuine fear of God : Therefore Holy
Writ tells us, " And now, O Israel,
what doth the Lord thy God require
of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God,
to walk in all his ways, and to love
him, and to serve the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul." (Deut. x. 12.) The meaning
is, Behold the great mercy of your
God, who facilitates your arriving at
the fear of him, by means of obey-
ing the commandments which he
has given you, and without which
you could not become capable of
fearing him. Thus David declares,
"The fear of the Lord is the begin-
ning of wisdom, a true good under-
standing to all that do his command-
ments." (Psalm cxi. 10.) On this
verse our Rabbies, in the Talmudic
treatise Berachoth, (folio 42,) thus
comment : " To all that DO, not, to
all that STUDY ;" thereby to teach us,
that it is not the knowledge of the
Divine precepts only, but the actual
observance, that implants on the
heart and mind of man the fear of
the Lord, the great means of attain-
ing the perfection of our purpose.
This is true wisdom ; as Job like-
wise declares, " The fear of the Lord
is wisdom." (Job. xxviii. 28.) As
this quality is the essential means of
obtaining eternal life, and as such is
the principal result of obedience to
the Divine commands, it behoves us
more fully to expatiate on its nature ;
to which we devote the next chap-
ters.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE origin of fear is the draw-
ing back of the soul, and its con-
centrating within itself at perceiving
something which inspires terror or
causes awe. This may be done in
two ways. First from the soul's dis-
covering something that has the
power of inflicting pain or suffering :
And,Secondly,from the feeling which
causes it to shrink back with appre-
hension, on the appearance of some-
thing exceedingly grand, lofty, ex-
alted, and high ; the comparison
with which causes the soul, from a
sense of its own measureless inferi-

ority, to be penetrated with awe,
although it does not apprehend any
danger. The fear of God may be
owing to the same two causes. The
first kind of fear is certainly of a very
low nature ; and he who obeys the
Divine commandments from fear of
punishment, ranks with him whose
obedience is caused by the selfish
expectation of reward. But though
this species of fear is, as we have
stated, of very inferior degree, it
possesses the advantage of leading
man on to the second species : As
the performance of the sacred behests
of the law will purify and ennoble
the mind until it raises itself to the
true and genuine fear of the Lord,
arising from the contemplation of
his infinite greatness, power, glory,
and perfection. When man reflects
on these essential attributes of the
Creator, and compares them with his
own nothingness, he will be filled
with veneration ; and, no longer
thinking of the punishment which
awaits the transgressor, he will trem-
ble with shame and confusion at the
idea of withstanding the will of so
inconceivably and inexpressibly glo-
rious a Being. It is a quality inhe-
rent in the human soul, that, on dis-
covering great perfections in ano-
ther, it endeavours to assimilate
itself and to approximate to such
perfections as far as is possible with-
in its power ; and, at all events," not
to give way to the opposite defects
while in the immediate presence of
superior perfections, but to submit
and do homage to their greater
worth. This feeling is not peculiar
to man, but we find that other ani-
mals are in various degrees affected
by the sense of his superiority, which
impels them to submit to his go-
vernance. And man would, in a
similar manner, be impelled to sub-
mit himself to the governance of his
Creator, were he not impeded by
evil passions. This is the meaning
of R. Alexandra!, who says, in his
prayer, preserved in the second chap-
ter of the Talmudic treatise Bera-
choth, " Lord of the universe, thou
knowest that our intention is to obey
thy will ; but what prevents us ? The
leaven in the dough.1' By which
expression he evidently alludes to
the evil passions within us. And in

METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE RABBIES.

413

order that man may be the more able
to restrain the physical desires which
preventour obeyingthe commands., of
God, these are enforced by the de-
nunciation of future penalties ; the
dread of which enables the intel-
lectual part of man, which is of itself
inclined to serve the Lord, to over-
come the animal part which rebels
against that service. Therefore both
kinds of fear, which at the com-
mencement of this chapter we men-
tioned, are requisite to man ; the first
to influence his animal, the second
his intellectual, part. And accord-
ingly we find that Job vindicates him-
self with having abstained from
doing what is evil in the sight of the
Lord, not only from fear of punish-
ment, but likewise out of veneration
for the Omnipotent. He says, " For
terrible to me was destruction from
God, and before his exaltation I
could not withstand." (Job xxxi.
23.) The destruction or punish-
ment which awaits the sinner was
one cause which prevented his sin-
ning. Veneration for the not-to-be-
equalled glory of the Most High,
made him incapable of withstanding
his will. When he reproaches his
friends, that their justification of his
hard fate was hypocritical, and ex-
horts them to fear the Lord, he tells
them to entertain both species of fear :
" He will surely reprove you ; if you
do secretly accept persons, shall not
his excellency make you afraid, and
his dread fall upon you ? " (Job xiii.
10, 11.) Here he mentions the pu-
nishment they are to fear, and the
excellency they are to venerate.
These two sentiments constitute the
true fear of the Lord ; and he who
entertains them is CJMPN NT,
"God-fearing."

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Ix order that the observance of a
Divine command may be complete,
and promote that perfection of pur-
pose for which it is instituted, it
must be accompanied by a feeling of
joy and gladness, which crowns the
deed, and without which it is de-
prived of its best ornament ; ami, if
accompanied with regret, it becomes
nugatory as the result of reluctance
and constraint. Aristotle, in the

3

second division of his Ethica Magna,
says : " The generous man who
expends his gifts joyfully, performs
a noble action : Whereas he who
gives reluctantly and with regret,
does a worthless deed." Holy Writ
fixes the reward of charity cheer-
fully bestowed, when it says, "Thou
shall surely give him, and thy heart
shall not be grieved when thou
givest unto him : Because that for
this thing the Lord thy God shall
bless thee in all thy works, and in all
that thou puttest thine hand unto."
(Deut. xv. 10.) Thus the blessing
announced is more the reward of the
joy which accompanies the deed,
than of the deed itself. We like-
wise find that Holy Writ assigns the
heaviest punishment to them who do
not joyfully serve the Lord their
God : As Moses declares : " Be-
cause thou didst not serve the Lord
thy God with joyfulness and with
gladness of heart, in the abundance
of all things ; therefore shalt thou
serve thine enemies, which the Lord
thy God will send against thee, in
hunger, and in thirst, and in naked-
ness, and in the want of all things,"
&c. (Deut. xxviii. 47, 48.) The
punishment is not denounced for
not at all serving the Lord, but for
not performing that service joyfully
and with gladness of heart. For
were we to assume that the intention
of the Sacred Scriptures is here to
reproach the Israelites with not hav-
ing served the Lord at all, when in
the midst of their affluence and pros-
perity, the inference might thence be
deduced, that man is only bound to
serve the Lord when prosperous,
which is directly contrary to the re-
peated precepts of Holy Writ. The
Sacred Singer likewise exclaims,
"Serve ye the Lord with gladness."
(Psalm c. 2.)

Having before stated that the- fear of
the Lord was the result of serving
him, and having now asserted that
such service to be perfect must be
joyfully performed, we might, per-
haps, be taxed with inconsistency,
as the two feelings are altogether
irreconcilable. For he who is in
fear cannot harbour gladness, and
he who is really joyful entertains no
fear. To shield ourselves against
this reproach, we say : "If any action

414

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

resulting from some one or other of
the faculties of the soul, be properly
performed, it proves that such fa-
culty is perfect ; whereas, the con-
trary proves the defective state of
such faculty. And as it forms alike
a part of human perfection not to
stand in cowardly fear of that which
in itself is not to be dreaded, and to
feel afraid of that which really is ter-
rifying, the reverse of either of these
sensations is a defect. He who wil-
fully pokes his hand into the fire,
proves the aberration of his mind or
the palsied state of his hand. Hip-
pocrates, in his second chapter,
states, that " he who feels no pain
must labour under a diseased intel-
lect." If the soul fears that which
really is to be dreaded, such fear is
a proof of its perfect sanity or healthy
state : And the more perfect its fa-
culties, the more will man conceive
the greatness of the Creator, and the
greater will be his dread of trans-
gression. But when man finds him-
self capable of such perception, he
cannot avoid rejoicing that he should

in any degree know, approximate,
and stand in relation to, so excellent
a Being. Accordingly, the Royal
Poet tells us, " Serve ye the Lord
with fear, and rejoice with trem-
bling." (Psalm ii. 11.) That is to
say, the service of the Lord requires
fear and trembling, occasioned by
his greatness and supreme perfec-
tion ; but in order to render that
service perfect, it must be performed
with joy and gladness, resulting
from the conviction, that, mean as
man is, his obedience does still bring
him into relation with his Creator.
Thus fear and joy not only exist to-
gether, but the latter crowns the act
of obedience, which the former dic-
tates : Therefore Solomon saith, " It
is joy to the righteous to do justice,
but destruction to the evil doer."
(Prov. xxi. 15.) His meaning is,
that as the righteous man rejoices in
the performance of justice, his deed
is perfect. Whereas, to the evil
doer, who grieves at being compelled
to act justly, his very act becomes
destruction.

(To be continued.)

III. SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

MO 5, PASSOVER.
(Concluded from page 403 J

our brief sketch of such importance assigned to this one

Were we to assume that

CONTINUING

the mighty events before us, we will
not enter into a detail of what took
place after the death of Joseph; — how
he and his services were forgotten,
how the descendants of Jacob were
reduced to slavery, the cruel mea-
sures adopted to check their increase,
the providential preservation of Mo-
ses, how he was appointed by the
Deity to. be the leader of Israel, and
how, after a series of supernatural
events, the Israelites were eventually
and miraculously liberated; — we
deem it needful to dwell only on the
last of these occurrences, which is
considered of such great importance
in Holy Writ, that not only is every
minute observance that keeps alive
the memory of this fact repeatedly
and most strictly enjoined, (and se-
vere punishment is denounced against
the transgressor,) but it is made a duty
"torememberthedayof thy exit from
the land of Mizraim, all the days of
thy life." (Deut. xvi. 3.) Why is

event ? Were we to assume
gratitude alone for the great mercies
conferred in liberating the nation
from bondage, is a sufficient cause,
a moment's reflection would tell us,
that the Israelite, like every other
human being, is so deeply indebted
to the Divine goodness, tiiat his ut-
most gratitude is insufficient to ac-
knowledge the countless mercies
which every fresh-drawn breath con-
fers upon him ; and that any one
event, however wonderful, mighty,
or glorious, is lost in the inexpressi-
ble total of obligations due to the
Supreme Benefactor. We must,
then, seek some other more sufficient
cause : And due reflection will teach
us, that it is not mere gratitude for
benefits received, however great,
which stamps the importance of the
exit from Egypt, but the instruction
thereby afforded, — not to Israelites
alone, but to the whole human race,
— on thesubject most precious and

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

415

interesting to man. We say, " to the
whole human race :" For, although
their wondrous liberation, and selec-
tion as a peculiar people, do, pri-
marily, concern the Israelite only,
the great lesson to be derived from
these facts is the general property
of all mankind. The acceptance of
the Israelites, — their being chosen by
the Deity as His peculiar people, —
was not the consequence of, or re-
ward due to, their merits : Tradition
tells us that, during their stay in
Egypt, they, like their task-masters,
were sunk in gross idolatry. It was
the faithfulness of their pious ances-
tors which procured the children of
Israel this distinguished mark of the
Divine favour ; as Holy Writ de-
clares, " Only, the Lord had a de-
light in thy fathers to love them, and
he chose their seed after them, even
you, above all people, as it is at this
a y." (Deut. x. 15.) And that faith-
ulness it is which deeply concerns
il mankind. For though it is true,
3 at other nations cannot become the
seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
it is not less true that, if such be the
will of God, they too may become
Abrahams, Isaacs, and Jacobs, and
have that mercy and grace extended
to them which was the portion of the
patriarchs of old, and the inheritance
of their seed. This precious instruc-
tion is derived from the facts which
the pascha commemorates : Theoreti-
cally contained in the doctrines of
the Mosaic law, it is practically prov-
ed by the history of Israel's libera-
tion. We find its theory in the Di-
vine declaration, " Keeping mercy
for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and
transgression, and sin," (Exodus
xxx'v. 7,) and its practice in the
cause which led to the acceptance of
Israel by the Deity : As Holy Writ
declares : " The Lord did not set his
love upon you, nor choose you be-
cause ye were more in number than
any people, for ye were the fewest
of all people ; but because the Lord
loved you, and because he would
keep the oath which he had sworn
unto your fathers, hath the Lord
brought you out with a mighty hand,
and redeemed you out of the house
of bondage, from the hand of Pha-
raoh king of Egypt. Know, there-
fore, that the Lord thy God He is

God, the faithful God, who keepeth
covenant and mercy with them that
love him and keep his command-
ments, to a thousand generations,
and repayeth them that hate him to
their face to destroy them ; he will
not be slack to him that hateth him,
he will repay him to his face." (Deut.
vii. 7-10.) The meaning of the
sacred writer is evident and clear :
The Deity did not select you as
forming the mass of mankind, of
which you are but a very small part ;
but it was the covenant formed with
your fathers which caused you to be
liberated, and preferred before other
nations ; let thi«, then, be a proof to
you, and to all mankind, that the
Lord thy God He is God, the faithful
God, who keepeth covenant and mercy
to them that love him and keep his
commandments, to a thousand genera-
tions. From these words is derived
the great principle of all religion ;
which we will endeavour to illus-
trate.

It has often been said, that the
Mosaic law is imperfect, because all
its promises are merely temporal,
and it does not plainly teach the
most sublime maxims of religious
faith, — the immortality of the soul,
and a future state. This reproach,
however, can only have been origin-
ated by those whose judgments were
too shallow to penetrate into, or to
appreciate, the profundity and spirit
of the Israelitish legislation. So far
from granting that their assertion is
well founded or proves the imper-
fection of the Mosaic system, we, on
the contrary, maintain, that it is in
every respect perfect, and worthy of
its Divine origin ; and that the want
of a plain and distinct statement of
the soul's^immortality, and its reward
or punishment hereafter, does most
fully prove the perfection of the sys-
tem revealed to our fathers by God,
through his servant Moses. We
entertain the most complete inward
conviction that the assertion we have
now advanced is true ; and most
happy shall we feel if we can, in a
few brief sentences, demonstrate to
our readers the reasoning on which
our conviction is founded, and ob-
tain their heart-felt assent to our
conclusions.

Religion teaches man such truths
a 2

416

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

as are beyond the reach or grasp of
his senses ; its lessons are, however,
conveyed in language, an offspring
of human senses. If the doctrines
of religion could possibly be express-
ed through the means of human lan-
guage, so as to become completely
clear to the senses, Divine revelation
would he superfluous ; for the unaid-
ed reason of a Socrates or a Plato
might have superseded the mission
of inspired Moses. But such is not,
and can never be, the case : Human
language, the offspring of human
senses, formed by human faculties,
must necessarily remain finite and
imperfect, like its origin, and cannot
clearly express that which is beyond
the reach of its parent. When, there-
fore, we use the words " the soul,"
or " spiritual being," we say that of
which we have no knowledge, can
form no precise idea, and to which
we consequently cannot assign a just
and correct appellation. Not only
are those in error who altogether
deny the immortality of the soul be-
cause they cannot conceive what
" immortal " really means ; but those
likewise who pretend, by means of
human reasoning only, to establish
that doctrine, are equally mistaken.
Without entering into any disputa-
tion with the latter, and even willing
to concede the super-human capa-
bility of their reasoning powers, we
would simply ask them, From what
language will you borrow expressions
sufficiently clear to place your won-
derful wisdom within the grasp of
our conception ? A? all language
emanates from the senses, how will
you rind words to demonstrate that
which is altogether above their ut-
most faculties ? Can we correctly
understand how a being can be a
whole, distinct and separate from
other similar beings, occupying space
or no space, and yet be incorporeal ?
If it occupies space, how can it be
incorporeal ? If it occupies no space,
how can it be distinct and separate
from other similar beings ? Granted
that the soul is immortal, what proof
can reason adduce, that, when sepa-
rated from the body, the spirit retains
a consciousness of events which took
place while it was connected with mat-
ter? And if that consciousness cannot
be proved to exist, in what degree can

the soul, in its present state, feel in-
terested in its hereafter ; as retaining
no trace of the past, the future must
to it be an altogether strange state of
existence. We think that questions
like these must ever remain unan-
swerable to human reason. And
whatever concerns the immortality
of the soul, and its future state, can
only be taught by revealed religion ;
not in direct words ; for what words
can clearly define a doctrine alto-
gether beyond the grasp and com-
prehension of language ? but, like the
animating spirit in the human body,
discerned only by its powers, and
the effects it produces, so must this
doctrine pervade the whole religious
system, discernible by its influence
in every part. When we contem-
plate the law of Moses, and do not
behold the immortality of the soul
distinctly announced, we are in the
same situation as when we see a
living and moving man, whose ani-
mating principle we cannot perceive.
Nevertheless, as convinced as we are
that man, who breathes, moves, and
performs his corporeal functions, is
animate, — because we cannot sepa-
rate the idea of his activity which we
see, from the animating principle
which we do not see, — we are equally
convinced that the law of Moses, —
which presents to us the precepts
and commandments which the Deity
has laid down for the guidance of
man, — must likewise contain the
principle of the soul's immortality ;
because we cannot separate the re-
vealed will of God, which we read
and understand, from that sublime
doctrine, to define which language
affords no adequate expressions.
The truth of the law of Moses, in
all its parts, is clear and positive ;
and was fully proved by evidence
satisfactorily demonstrated to the
senses of every individual composing
the Israelitish nation. Had it been
possible that proof equally clear and
positive should have been afforded of
the endless duration of the soul,
after its separation from the body,
and the difference made between the
righteous and the wicked in an after-
state, faith would entirely have
ceased, and religious obedience lost
its merit ; for it is equally impossible
that religion should be based on in-

PIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELtGIOX.

417

fidelity, as that :t should rest on
certainty so sensibly demonstrated
as to render faith useless. And
whereas the true merit of obedience
to the law of God consists in sacri-
ficing the present gratification of
our appetites and desires to His
commands, and to the humble hope
that His mercy will deign to accept
our service ; had the positive assur-
ance of future reward been clearly
pronounced by the law of Moses,
and demonstrated by the evidence of
the senses, like every other part of
his precepts ; obedience would have
degenerated into a base traffic, in
which man, like a usurer, parts from
transient enjoyments of a limited
nature, in order to receive a bound-
less and unceasing reward. Moses
implanted this most sublime doc-
trine, the immortality of the soul,
into the spirit of his religious legis-
lation. He established, in the most
clear and convincing manner, that
the system he taught was actually
revealed by God, because the Divine
prescience by which he was inspired
taught him to know, that it was im-
possible any believer in divine reve-
lation could separate or avoid being
inwardly convinced of the truth of
that fundamental doctrine, although
it was not expressly declared. Nay,
such is the essential quality of his
law, that whosoever belie veth and
obeyeth has already a foretaste of
future bliss ; as Moses himself de-
clares : " Ye who did cleave unto
the Lord your God are alive every
one of you this day." (Deut. iv. 4.)
His meaning is, Even this day,
while yet in your mortal state, ye
participate in that true life which is
the inheritance of those who cleave
unto the Lord their God. Should
the question be put, why Moses does
not here distinctly declare the mean-
ing we assign to his words ; we, in
return, would ask the objector to
tell us, why Moses, when he relates
the creation of the heavenly orbs,

) does not tell us whether and by
whom they are inhabited. The an-

V swer to both questions is the same.
Moses only stated that which could
be proved as true by the evidence of
the senses. Whatever was beyond that
evidence, he left to the in ward feelings
of those to whom his precepts were

directed. Therefore he tells them,
that, if they obey the laws of God,
the rain would be granted to their
land in due season ; and other the
like temporal promises, the fulfil-
ment of which is clear and demon-
strable to the senses. Xor can he
who believes the truth of the law
fail to know and believe the immor-
tality of his soul ; a doctrine not to
be defined by word?, but to be recog-
nised by a presentiment of the un-
dying spirit within, as the beacon
which lights the path of its return
to its father-land. What words, in-
deed, could describe the bliss and
beatitude of the righteous, the suffer-
ing and reprobation of the wicked ?
Even the inspired poet king, en-
lightened as was his mind, cannot
otherwise express the happiness of a
future state than by exclaiming,
" How great is thy goodness which
thou hast laid up for those that fear
thee !" (Psalm xxxi. 19 ) Should
Moses, too, have acquainted us with
these important doctrines in a simple
exclamation ? Had he at all dilated
on this subject, he must have ex-
plained to us the essence and nature
of the soul, in order that we might
comprehend in what its reward or
punishment could consist ; how the
eternal duration of the latter was
reconcilable to Divine mercy ; and
many other subjects, all of which, as
we have already demonstrated, are
not within the grasp or comprehen-
sion of language. Still the doctrine
is incorporated in the law, and
brought into the closest connexion
with the events of the pascha, as
very little reflection will prove.
Abraham, "the friend" of the Lord,
with whom the Creator of the
universe made a covenant, to whom
the All-just pledged himself, and
declared, " By myself have I sworn,
saith the Lord, that in blessing I will
bless thee, and I will multiply thy
seed as the stars of heaven, and as
the sand which is on the sea shore ;"
(Gen. xxii. 16, 17 ;) Abraham, to
whom the most glorious promises
(but all to be fulfilled at a subsequent
period) were made by the Most
High ; — this Abraham died like an
ordinary mortal ; his dust mingled
with his parent earth, like that of the
most wicked transgressor; nothing

418

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION.

remains of either of them. And yet
the one was the friend, the other the
enemy, of God ! Ahraham was pro-
mised the possession of the land of
Canaan ; of which, however, the only
part he ever held was the grave pur-
chased from Ephron the Hittite, in
which he was to rest at the side of
his beloved Sarah. Is it consonant
with the ordinary feelings of human
nature, or the dictates of human rea-
son, that a man should feel greatly
interested in events which are to
befal his descendants at a distance
of four centuries and more after his
dissolution ? When Hezekiah, king
of Judah, was told by the prophet,
that his descendants would, at a dis-
tant day, be the humble and captive
attendants on the kings of Babylon,
his answer was, " Good is the word
of the Lord which thou hast spoken.
He said, moreover, For there will
be peace and truth in my days."
(Isaiah xxxix. 8.) This indifference
to the fate of remote descendants is
more in unison with human nature
than to expect that the heart of an
aged man should greatly rejoice at
the merciful promise, that his seedj
after four hundred years of dire
bondage should at last be triumph-
antly delivered. What was the satis-
faction reserved to the generations
who, during their whole life-time,
groaned beneath the scourge of their
relentless taskmasters, and whose
broken spirit left their worn-out
frame ? What satisfaction was it for
them to know, that succeeding gene-
rations would be less wretched than
they had been ? How is it possible
that he who believes that the Deity
did pledge himself to Abraham, —
which pledge was subsequently, long
after the patriarch's death, most mira-
culously and literally fulfilled, —
should not also believe that Abra-
ham, the friend of God, does still
exist ? that his spirit still survives in
that eternity, to which four centuries,
and their crowded events, appear but
like the space and transactions of the
past minute ? This belief alone can
solve the many questions we have
enumerated ; it can alone complete
the connexion between the promises
made to Abraham, and the predic-
tion that his descendants should be
slaves, with their subsequent actual

deliverance. Thus the fact, that the
soul is immortal, and that this doc-
trine is theoretically incorporated
with the laws of Moses, and practi-
cally proved by the history of events
which he narrates, is the second
great principle established by the
exit from Egypt.

But it is not past events only, it
is future occurrences likewise, of
which the history of the miraculous
liberation of Israel shows us the
mirror. Wonderful occurrences,
such as that history relates, repeated
inversions of the course of nature,
and the visible interposition of Om-
nipotence, were not undertaken in
vain, nor without motives adequate
and sufficiently important. To say
that these motives, whatever they
were, have already been fully at-
tained, is quite irreconcilable with
what we see around us. What !
" Hath God assayed to go and take
him a nation from the midst of ano-
ther nation, by temptations, by
signs, and by wonders, and by war,
and by a mighty hand and out-
stretched arm, according to all that
the Lord your God did for you in
Egypt before your eyes ? " Has he
followed up these his mighty won-
ders by the gracious declaration,
" Ye shall be a peculiar treasure
unto me, above all people, (for all the
earth is mine,) and ye shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation? " Did he continue his
direct and providential interpositions
in their behalf for no other purpose
than that they might, for a short
time, possess a narrow territory, be
harassed in that possession by power-
ful neighbours, exiled, restored, and,
after suffering every species of out-
rage and injury, at length become
expelled from that land, and scat-
tered over the face of the earth dur-
ing a period of time greatly exceeding
the entire duration of their political
existence ? Was it for this that all
nature was made subservient to their
deliverance ? Was it for this that
Mizraim's proud river saw its waters
turned into blood, that noxious ani-
mals and insects executed the pro-
phet's bidding, and disappeared at
his command ? that the sun lost its
light ? that the war of the elements
was excited or hushed at the signal

SPIRIT OF THE JEWISH RELIGION'.

419

given by mortal man ? that the
avenging angel went forth to smite
the hopes of an entire nation ? that
the waters of the ocean opened to
give a safe passage to Israel's host,
" the floods stood upright as an
heap, and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea ? " Was it
for this that their food rained from
heaven, and that the walls of mighty
cities fell at the sound of their trum-
pets ? Were all these wonders
wrought for no other purpose than
to adorn the history of a wretched
race of captive exiles, who, during
hundreds of years, have been a prey
to fire and to sword, to obloquy and
contempt, to tyranny and oppres-
sion ; whose fate has been alike
"the jest of folly and the scorn of
pride ? " It is true, their present suf-
ferings are the just punishment of
former sins- What now befals them
had been long predicted. Not with-
out caution did they persevere in
their career of iniquity. But were
not their sins, as well as their suffer-
ings, foreseen by that Deity whose
grace had once exalted them so high ?
Is it consistent with his all-perfect
wisdom, that his wondrous interpo-
sition and his mighty power should
have been employed to produce such
a result ? What ! is the chosen peo-
ple of God to sink so low, that the
greatest happiness to which they
dare aspire, is their being assimilated
to the other nations of the earth?
Is the purpose for which they were
chosen, and appointed to be a king-
dom of priests, already and fully at-
tained ? Where is the reflecting ob-
server who, in the present state of
mankind, shall presume to answer
these questions in the affirmative :
Where is the arrogant mortal who
shall dare to fathom the counsels of
Omnipotence, or to predict how the
future is to crown the past ? Xo ;
though we know not how or when it
may please the Deity to stretch forth
his mighty arm, " to remember his
covenant with Abraham, with Isaac,
and with Jacob, and to remember
the land," yet this we know, that his
purpose, — the beneficent indention
which is to be carried into effect
through the instrumentality of his
chosen people, — is not, as yet, by any
means accomplished : Not yet are

they become the means of fulfilling
the Divine promise to Abraham :
"In thee shall all the families of the
earth be blessed.'' All human con-
jectures how this is to be done, are
idle and presumptuous. The Deity
acts according to his own infinite
greatness and wonderful counsel ;
not according to the shallow devices
of human weakness, and its puerile
ideas. When the Israelites spent
their weary years of captivity in
Egypt, — although they knew of the
Divine promise to their father Abra-
ham,— they could not conceive how
that promise was to be realized.
Many are the promises which the
Sacred Scriptures have treasured up,
and which predict the liberation of
Israel, and the happiness, through
them, of all mankind ; but how these
promises are to be fulfilled, we can-
not comprehend. When the prophet
declares to Israel, that, " as at the
day of his exit from Egypt, I will
shew him wonders," it is clear he
does not mean that similar^ won-
ders to those which accompanied
Israel's liberation from Egypt, will
take place at their restoration from
their present exile ; but that, as those
events were unexpected, wonderful,
and beyond the reach of human con-
jecture, in like manner will the events
that are to accomplish the final de-
liverance of Israel, and the happiness
and perfection of all mankind, exceed
the utmost reach of human under-
standing and expectation : Thus the
Sacred Singer saith, " When the
Lord again delivers Zion, we are like
them that dream." (Psalm cxxvi. 1.)
He does not tell us what events will
then take place, but that they will
be so astounding, and so utterly be-
yond our expectations, that we shall
appear as if awaking from a state
of stupor : Accordingly the prophet
saith, " Behold the days come, saith
the Lord, that they shall no more
say, As the Lord liveth which brought
up the children of Israel from the
land of Egypt; but, As the Lord
liveth which brought up and led
Israel from the north country, and
from all the countries whither I have
driven them : And they shall dwell
in their own land." (Jer. xxiii. 7.)
Thus the fact, that the final purpose
for which the Lord vouchsafed to

420

SPIRIT OF THE JEVvISZI UELIGION.

extend his miraculous aid to the
Israelites, to relieve them from
Egypt, and to constitute them his
peculiar people, in order that they
might be a kingdom of priests, pro-
pagating his holy name, and the
knowledge of his sacred truths
among mankind, and that thus event-
ually all the families of the earth
may he blessed, — that this final and
important purpose, which can only
be effected by Israelites, is not yet
accomplished, is the third great
principle which we derive from the
history of the exit of the Israelites
from Egypt.

These three principles, which ema-
nate from this wonderful event, being
of such great and universal impor-
tance, it is no longer surprising that
the law of Moses should so strictly
enjoin the observance of those cere-
monies which perpetuate the memory
of that event. Accordingly, we read,
"Seven days shall there be no leaven
found in your houses ; for whosoever
eateth that which is leavened, even
that soul shall be cut off' from the
congregation of Israel." (Ex. xii. 19.)
Let not the hyper-refinement of the
present day cavil at the Divine com-
mand, or assert that the crime bears
no proportion to its punishment.
Simple as is the observance, it be-
comes of consequence, because it
bears evidence to the most important
fact recorded in sacred history ; that
fact which is at once the basis and
great testimony on which rests the
truth of revealed religion. No other na-
tion on the face of the earth does, in an
uninterrupted chainof succession from
father to son, commemorate events
which occurred upwards of 'three
thousand years ago. And, when we
consider that with this event is con-
nected, and indissolubly bound up,

the subsequent history of the nation
pre-eminently destined to be the in-
strument of Providence for carrying
into effect the beneficent purposes of
the Deity towards the whole human
race, and to promote the happiness of
all mankind, it becomes important to
every man, that whatever contributes
to support the evidence which attests
the truth of these events ought to b
preserved inviolate : And he wh
wantonly transgresses the Divine
prohibition does not only rebel
against the revealed will of his God,
but endeavours to undermine, and,
as far as in his power lies, to d~
stroy, the proof on which that reveal-
ed will is founded, and by which it
is upheld. Therefore does Moses
wind up his exhortation to the Israel-
ites, respecting the paschal observ-
ances in the following words : "And
when thy son asketh thee in time to
come, saying, What mean the testi-
monies and the statutes which the
Lord our God hath commanded you ?
then thou shalt say unto thy son,
We were Pharaoh's bondmen in
Egypt, and the Lord brought us out
of Egypt with a mighty hand. And
the Lord showed signs arid wonders,
great and sore, upon Egypt, upon
Pharaoh, and upon all his household,
before our eyes. And he brought us
out from thence, that he might bring
us, and give us the land which he
sware to our fathers. And the Lord
commanded us to do all these sta-
tutes, to fear the Lord our God for
our good always, that he might pre-
serve us alive as at this day. AND IT

SHALL BE RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO US,
IF WE OBSERVE TO DO ALL THESE
COMMANDMENTS BEFORE THE LORD
OUR GOD, AS HE HATH COMMANDED

us." (Deut. vi. 20-25.)

EXD OF VOL. I.

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